Red Bean Soup
by lenniemoo
Summary: Midorima's parents decide to go on a year-long business trip, and Takao is to live with Midorima for the time being to ease their worries. They both learn to accept each other, and suddenly, they can't live without one another. [midorima x takao] (aoki)
1. 1

**Authors Note:** Hey y'all! This is my first KuroBasu fic, so please be kind! I have high hopes for this fic, and I hope that you all will like it.

**Disclaimer: **I do not claim to own Kuroko no Basuke.

* * *

The Shuutoku basketball team was gathered outside their school gym, sitting on benches and drinking their choice of drink. The cloudless sky was slowly blushing into a pink that reminded the team of the summer, a time when the heat was stifling and the crickets were chirping in a seemingly harmoniously manner. There was a slight chill as the wind blew gently and gave several of the boy's headaches.

It was the transition between summer and autumn, and Midorima wondered if he should have bought a warm _shiruko _instead of the cold one he now regretfully held within his hands. He had already taped up his left hand, but he could still feel the chill seeping through the tape. Beside him, Takao shivered in his t-shirt and crossed his arms, leaving his water bottle on the floor forgotten.

"Damn, it's chilly." Takao sighed and stretched his legs out on the bench that he and Midorima were sharing.

"Idiot. It's your fault for forgetting your jacket." Midorima chided him as he pushed up his glasses with his left hand. Takao was always forgetting things, and Midorima was the one who had to pick up after him.

"I hope it gets so cold that it chases my cousin back to America." Ootsubo grumbled under his breath and crinkled his can. There was a serious air of dishevelment around the boy who was usually very much put together.

"Oi… you little punk. Don't say things like that about your relatives." Miyaji shook his head.

"What's wrong with your cousin?" Kimura asked.

Midorima noticed that Takao had started to lean forward, eager to hear the story. Typical Takao, he always wanted a piece of the action.

"He's a nice person and all… but since he came to stay with us for a few months since the summer, I can't stand him at all." Ootsubo clutched his hair and groaned. "He spends too long in the washroom when I need it in the morning, leaves everything in a mess when he leaves, and uses _my _bath towel after he showers!"

Takao snickered softly and Midorima hit him on the back of his head.

Kimura nodded apathetically. "That always happens. You live with someone for too long and all their annoying quirks come into play and you just _can't help _but hate them!"

There was a small silence between the team members until Takao piped up.

"Well guys, good thing we don't live together because I wouldn't want to end up hating you all!" He snorted.

"Yeah. I certainly wouldn't want to live with you, Takao." Midorima shot Takao a glare before taking another sip of his _shiruko_.

Ootsubo, Kimura, and Miyaji couldn't help but burst into laughter. Midorima rarely said anything not stern or serious, but even though he was serious this time, they all found it funny.

"Ooooh!" Kimura slapped Takao on the back as he adopted a false look of disappointment on his face.

Takao crossed his arms and frowned. "You're an ass, Shin-chan! This is how you repay me for carrying you around on a rickshaw?"

"I never said I would pay you." Midorima shrugged.

"Well, anyways." Ootsubo cleared his throat. "My cousin isn't a bad person. If we didn't live together, I wouldn't dislike him so much."

Midorima suddenly felt his phone vibrate and he withdrew it from his pocket, to see an SMS from his mother.

_6:23 p.m. Mom: Shintarou! Remember to bring Takao-kun home for dinner! We have something important to discuss with him. _

Something important? Midorima shook his head. This could not turn out well His Oha-Asa horoscope_ did_ say that today would an unexpected turn of events for Cancers. Midorima raised his head to interrupt the babble of conversation had continued without him.

"Takao. Let's head back."

His partner raised his head to look at him.

"Eh? Why so early? Do you want to go yourself?"

Midorima grunted and shook his head. He didn't want to admit to the whole team that Takao was acquainted with his family. "No, we gotta go back." He started to ignore Takao's protests, grabbed their respective bags, and started to drag him away from the benches.

Takao sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat.

"Okay," he turned around and waved to the team, "Bye guys!"

A chorus of _sayonara_s reached them from across the field, and Takao turned back towards Midorima.

* * *

"So, why did we have to leave?" He placed his hands behind his head after snatching bag from Midorima's possession.

"My mom wants you over for dinner." Midorima muttered.

"Eeeeeeeeh?" Takao exclaimed. "That's rare. What's the occasion?"

Midorima, who was growing more and more uncomfortable due to the fact that he wasn't sure what his mother wanted from Takao either, pushed up his glasses again and said. "Nothing. She wants to ask you something…probably." He tacked on lamely.

Midorima's parents didn't interact with Takao much, but his parents and Takao's were on pretty good terms. Since the two families lived in the same neighbourhood, they ran into each other frequently.

"Hmm…" Takao didn't seem to notice Midorima's discomfort. They walked in silence until they finally reached the gate of Midorima's home. A small sign with their family name stood proudly on a wall, and a neatly trimmed lawn greeted the pair.

Midorima silently opened the gate and let Takao walk ahead before closing it behind him.

"Are you hungry yet?" Takao broke the silence.

"Not particularly. My stomach isn't feeling too good right now. Oha-Asa said that today would have an unexpected turn of events."

Takao snickered just as the door to the house opened and Midorima's dark-haired mother stepped out to greet them.

"Takao-kun! It's been a long time!" She smiled confidently and stooped down to give Takao a hug. She was taller than Takao, but shorter than her son. "Just so you know, I called your parents to let them know you're eating here tonight."

"Hello, it's great to see you again, and thanks." Takao said politely.

"Tadaima." Midorima muttered and his mother waved them into the house.

As Takao stepped in, Midorima held his mother back by the elbow.

"Mom, what is going on?" He whispered urgently.

"Relax, honey. You'll see in due time." She reached up and patted his hair. He gave the floor a sour look before entering the house himself and taking off his shoes.

Takao had already disappeared, but Midorima could guess that he was upstairs, doing who-knows-what in Midorima's room. He shook his head, hoping that Takao didn't already ruin the order of his belongings.

"I'll call you two down for dinner when it's ready!" His mother called from downstairs.

"Got it!" Midorima called back.

When he got to his room, the door was already thrown open and Takao was sprawled on his bed. A sudden annoyance took over him and he grabbed the boy by his waist and dumped him on the floor.

"Oi! What was that for!"

"How many times have I told you that you're _not _allowed on my bed!" Midorima clenched his jaw. "It's one of my pet peeves."

"But I even threw off the sheets first this time!" Takao grumbled.

"Doesn't matter. You're absolutely filthy from practice and I don't want to sleep on that shit."

"I definitely do not want to live with you. I'm already on the verge of hating you as is anyways." The smaller boy got up and took a seat in the chair in front of Midorima's desk.

"Vice-versa." Midorima started to fold his sheets again and placed them back onto the bed. "Ootsubo was completely on the dot. I spend two minutes in with you in my house and I already want to kill you."

"That's because you have a low threshold for annoying things." Takao spun in the chair idly. "What are we gonna do until your mom calls us down?"

"Not sure. I already tried asking her what she wants with you, but she wouldn't say anything."

"Well, go ahead and change out of your practice clothes because I must say, you stink." Takao waved a hand in front of his nose.

"Shut up! I definitely do _not _stink! If there was anyone who was smelly right now, it would be you." Midorima shot back.

"That's a lie and you know it. Small people don't have stinky sweat."

"Oh yeah, and who made that up?" Midorima crossed his arms and towered over Takao.

"Me." Takao cackled gleefully and gave Midorima a small kick.

He gave Takao one last glare before turning to his closet, and grabbing a fresh t-shirt. He was in the middle of peeling of his shirt when his mother opened the door and took a look at the two.

"Takao-kun! You're supposed to be _looking _at him when he's taking off his shirt for you!"

"W-w-what?!" Midorima sputtered after fully removing the shirt.

Takao had fallen off the chair and was now laying facedown on the floor, shaking with laughter.

"I'm just kidding boys." She waved her hand and laughed.

"Mom! Don't say embarrassing things like that!" Midorima was still red.

"Relax, Midorima! I don't mind." Takao shot Midorima a wolfish grin and the latter sent him a death glare.

"Anyways, come down for dinner!" She turned and left the two, also leaving behind an awkward silence.

Midorima quickly donned his new shirt before bolting to the door.

"Come on!" He called back before descending the stairs.

* * *

Takao caught up to him at the dinner table, where both Midorima's mother and father were seated.

"Thanks for joining us for dinner." Midorima's father greeted Takao and he returned the greeting with the same degree of politeness.

Takao and Midorima sat side-by-side, and Midorima grumbled as he realized Takao had sat to his left.

After they had all said _itadakimasu_, they all began to eat with good humour. Midorima sat silently as his parents bombarded Takao with questions to fill the spaces in which it would otherwise be awkward. Takao cheerfully played along and answered them all with a smile.

Midorima thought that he should probably be glad that Takao was so friendly, otherwise that would have made his life harder.

Midway through the meal, Takao's elbow knocked into Midorima's left one and he had to bite back a snarl.

"…" Midorima settled for a dark look instead.

"Ah, sorry!" Takao gave him a super-fake smile that infuriated Midorima even further. He must have done it on purpose.

"Alright you two, don't get into a fight just yet." Midorima's father set down his chopstick and addressed the two.

A sudden air of seriousness filled the dining room and Midorima shifted uneasily in his seat.

"Sorry." They apologized.

"Now, I'm sure you're both wondering why Takao's here tonight…"

Takao and Midorima exchanged looks that said, "_Do you know what he's going to say?"_

"…and I wanted to let you two know that Midorima's mother and I are planning on a year-long business trip to the States. A great opportunity came up there and it would be really great for us if we took it."

Midorima jolted up within his seat.

"What?" The two echoed. He froze, unable to process the information. He wasn't exactly sure if he was pleased by the news, or not.

Midorima's mother piped up.

"And Takao, we know that your parents often leave you at home alone, so we know that you're used to living alone."

The black-haired boy nodded slowly and gave Midorima a hard kick under the table.

He tried to hide his grimace and returned the kick.

"So, we were wondering if you would gracious enough to stay with Midorima while we were gone."

The kicking suddenly stopped and there was a dead silence.

"You mean… you want me to live with him?"

* * *

/rolls

See you next time!


	2. 2

**a/n: UM NOT SURE IF ANYONE'S READING THIS AYOOO but here's the second chapter.**

**disclaimer: i do not claim to own kurobas**

* * *

"You mean… you want me to live with him?" Takao started slowly.

Takao wasn't quite sure if he was horrified by the idea of living with Midorima Shintarou, or ecstatic about living with a friend. Due to the fact that Ootsubo had just told them about how horrible it was living with his cousin, Takao couldn't push the pit in his stomach away. Hating Shin-chan sounded like a very bad idea for the team and his own well-being. He was fine with their relationship the way it was.

But on the bright side-

"No way. No." Midorima had suddenly set his chopsticks roughly onto his place mat and was now glaring at Takao. "I absolutely refuse this arrangement. I am able to live by myself."

"Why are you glaring at me?" Takao spat out indignantly. "What have I done to you?" Anger suddenly rose within him to react with Midorima's. He grinded his teeth silently.

"Midorima, please." Midorima's mother pleaded. "We tried to arrange something else, but nothing worked out. We know how you are with your lucky items and your horoscopes… so we thought that the best person to keep an eye on you was Takao."

"Trust. What happened to trusting me? I'm an absolutely capable, functioning person!" Midorima's voice grew a notch and Takao cringed. He rarely heard Midorima raise his voice and it pained him inside to hear it so.

"We trust you enough to let you live with a friend for the time that we are gone. That alone is a privilege, and we know that you have some extreme tendencies at times. We're just hoping that Takao can smooth things out for a while. He doesn't even have to stay for the whole time." Midorima's father kept his cool and spoke calmly.

Midorima's aura seemed to grow even darker at this, but eventually, he spoke.

"Alright. I apologize for my rudeness." He said in a quiet voice. Takao was slightly surprised that his father had reasoned with him so easily. Then again, they were accustomed to dealing with Midorima.

"But once I'm settled in, Takao's leaving."

Something within him snapped. What right did Midorima have to be rude to him at the moment? Suddenly, the stir-fry vegetables in his stomach churned and anger bubbled up within him once more. His head started to feel hot, and he could feel his heartbeat in his ears. Takao tried to take a deep breath but it came out as a shaky short one instead.

"You know, Shin-chan… I mean Midorima-kun. What makes you think I've even agreed to this arrangement?" He casually laced his words with malice.

Midorima met his eyes. "Free food, free lodging, free facilities. What more could you want?"

Midorima's mother shifted uneasily. "Shintarou! Why are you being so rude?"

"Whatever you say Midorima-kun." Takao said curtly. He picked up his chopsticks once more and grabbed a piece of broccoli and stuffed it in his mouth, chewing angrily. Takao clenched his left fist, trying not to create more commotion by punching Midorima.

Takao suddenly regretted exploding so suddenly. It wasn't Shin-chan's fault that he was suddenly thrown into this. But it wasn't also Takao's fault that he was asked to participate.

As he was in the middle of ladling some miso soup into his empty bowl, Midorima quietly cleared his throat and Takao jumped, startled by the sudden disturbance, nearly spilling the hot soup.

He nearly jumped once more when he felt cool fingers wrapping around his wrist and gently pushing it down, pulling the bowl of soup with it. Midorima set the bowl softly on the table.

"I'm sorry for by rudeness." Takao felt his chest ache a little. He knew he was angry but Midorima had just broken a wall.

"Takao, you're welcome to stay as long as you want. I would be extremely grateful if you would accept my parents' offer.

Takao couldn't help but a tiny bit impressed by Midorima's maturity and ability to recover from his previous state.

"I-i…" Takao found himself stuttering and he wondered why he was suddenly so nervous.

"It's fine, its fine!" Takao waved his free hand around and gave his best smile to Midorima's parents. The atmosphere seemed to mellow a bit and the tension was gone.

"If my parents agree to it, I'd definitely be up for it." Takao nodded. Midorima's mother smiled and said,

"I actually already called your parents and they agreed to it as long as you were fine with it!"

Takao raised an eyebrow and said, "Really? That's surprising…"

She laughed, "I can be very persuasive!"

With the tension gone, Midorima's mother seemed to relax in her chair a little, but she suddenly flashed a sly smile at Takao and he started, unable to comprehend what she was getting at.

Her eyes suddenly dropped to somewhere on the table, and he followed them, realizing that Midorima's left hand was still wrapped around his wrist. His fingers were so long that they completely encircled his wrist, and more. Takao stared at the tape and wondered if he would ever get to see his hand un-taped outside of a game.

Midorima noticed the exchange and jolted, as he realized his hand was still attached to Takao's wrist. He quickly withdrew it.

"Alright, so we're leaving in two weeks. Takao, you can get your things prepared." Midorima's father was back to business, acting as if the outburst never occurred. "You'll be staying in our guest room on the second floor."

"I guess I should really thank you but…" Takao trailed off.

"No, you're doing us a favour, so I just ask that you two don't get into too much trouble." Midorima's mother gave a wink to Takao and he felt himself blushing in embarrassment.

What on earth was she getting at?

* * *

After they had finished the meal, and Takao had left the Midorima household, he felt himself in a slight daze while walking home. The sky was now completely pitchblack and Takao felt himself walking in a dead silence. He grabbed his earphones and quickly put them into his ears, not wanting to suffer another moment in the quietness.

As the song of his favourite rock band burst to life within his ears, he found that he couldn't focus on the lyrics, the bass, or any part of the music. He felt his mind straying back and forth to the incident at Midorima's.

_-wondering if you would gracious enough to stay with Midorima_

And then there was the issue of what Ootsubo had just mentioned today. Would he end up hating Midorima? Would they still be partners?

No. Takao couldn't afford to think that way. For the sake of Shuutoku, he had to do his best to endure and force himself to just accept Midorima. Sheesh! And he thought that he had already accepted him enough, especially by carrying him around on a bloody _rickshaw_.

"Aaaaughhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Takao threw his head back and groaned. He was thinking too hard about this. But somehow, Takao still felt himself shaking a bit, and it was only until he got back home and was in the _ofuro_ that he realized he could still feel Midorima's fingers wrapped around his right wrist.

As he laid down in his bed Takao lightly touched his wrist, as if he were trying to erase the memory.

Today was a day that Midorima had shown more emotion to Takao than all of the days in which they had been acquainted. He rolled to his side as he heard his phone vibrate on the nightstand and he grabbed it and flipped it open.

_11:32 p.m. Shin-Chan: Sorry about today._

A light smile touched his lips and he quickly punched in a few characters and flipped it closed before he could type anything more than what was needed.

_11:32 p.m. Me: it's fine, see you tomorrow._

* * *

**;v;; SOB PLZ READ & REVIEW**


	3. 3

**a/n: this chapter feels like crack for some reason. ENJOY.**

**disclaimer: i dont own knb**

* * *

"Takao-kun."

In his dream, someone was calling him. Suddenly, he was back in the Midorima household. There was no food at the table, and he was sitting at the head of the table. Midorima's mother stood beside Midorima at the opposite end, and Takao wondered where his father was.

"Look at him."

Takao was confused. Whose voice was that? Recognizing it to be female, it could only be Midorima's mother.

"_Look at him_, Takao-kun!" She had a fierce expression on her face.

What on earth was going on? Midorima's kindly mother _never _had that kind of expression on her face. This must be serious. She must be angered.

"**Look at him if he's taking off his shirt for you!**" She screamed.

She grabbed his face- wait, how did she get there?- and held it in place as Midorima slowly started to peel of his shirt. His belly button, his abdominal muscles, and then his nip-

* * *

"_Takao-kun!_"

Suddenly, Takao wasn't in his dream anymore. With a jolt he awoke as a piece of chalk hit his head roughly and he jumped.

"What are you doing sleeping in my class?"

Takao looked around, only to see the rest of the class staring at him, including Midorima.

"_Look at him if he's taking off his shirt for you!"_

He didn't know whether to be horrified or amused by his out-of-this-world dream. Why on earth would Midorima _ever _be taking off his shirt for Takao?

_Midorima's mother must be a yaoi-enthusiast._

Takao slowly shook his head to erase the image from his head and the teacher walked over to whack his head with a rolled up booklet of paper.

"What are you shaking your head for? Why were you sleeping during the lecture? You have no reason to be sleeping _in class. _Get your sufficient amount of sleep at home!"

She scolded him angrily until Takao just stared at her with a glassy look in his eyes, and she huffed.

"Obviously none of this is registering in your brain. Get more sleep from now on." She picked out a piece of chalk from his hair and walked back to the front of the class. Takao silently thanked her and wiped his face to make sure there was no drool on it.

_Damn, that was embarrassing._

He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because he just kept tossing and turning. Eventually, Takao had taken a chair out onto his patio to just breathe some fresh air and he had fell asleep for a good hour or two outside until the chill had become too much. He needed to stop coming up with strange methods to fall asleep.

* * *

When it was break, Takao heaved a huge sigh a laid his head on his table, facing his had towards the windows that showed nothing but cloudy skies. His whole body ached with exhaustion. He _usually _always got a good night's sleep, but today was an exception.

"Oi." A deep and quiet voice rang through Takao, and the boy turned his head on the table, still unwilling to unpeel his head from the desk.

Midorima stood before him, with his usual frown and stern look upon his face.

"Don't sleep in class again unless you want to die."

Takao suddenly sat straight in his chair and looked at Midorima with a faux-scared expression. "I-it's okay if I die by Shin-chan's hands!" Takao dramatically put his hands to his face.

"It's only okay if it's Shin-chan!" Takao burst into laughter as Midorima hit his head with a thermos and said, "Die."

"Wait, what is that thermos for?"

"I meant to kill you with it."

"Shin-chan, I doubt even the most skilled serial killer would fail to kill me with a mere thermos."

"Well I'll become better than the most skilled serial killer." Midorima set the thermos down onto Takao's desk, unwilling to say anything else despite the questioning looks from Takao.

Takao grabbed the thermos, unscrewed the top and peered inside.

"…..Is this _shiruko_? What are you giving me this for?" Takao stared at Midorima.

"…." The green-haired boy suddenly looked embarrassed. "Sorryforyesterday."

"What did you say?"

"_Sorryforyesterday._"

"Midorima, can you talk any faster?"

"Just drink the goddamn thing!" Midorima nearly shouted.

"Ok, ok! Relax!" Takao laughed and took a sip of the dark substance.

Almost immediately, Takao started choking and he turned bright red from the lack of oxygen. Midorima stared at him in panic as Takao proceeded to cough his lungs out and hack like an old man.

After his coughing fit was over, Takao stared up at Midorima with teary eyes.

"I inhaled an _azuki_ bean-" He started to cough again and Midorima lamely patted him once on the back.

"That's not going to help idiot! That bean was super hard! Did you even cook the soup for the proper amount of time?"

Midorima shrugged. "I can't remember"

Takao slowly shook his head. "I can see why your parents want me to take care of you."

Midorima suddenly exploded. "You're not _taking care of me! _You're just simply…"

Midorima trailed off awkwardly and Takao cleared his throat. He felt bad for teasing Midorima too much. He obviously had good intentions, but not the right means of doing things. It was probably difficult for a proud person like Midorima to admit his faults.

"But… thanks a lot anyways." Takao said. "I'll teach you how to make it properly next week."

Midorima grunted and turned back to his seat. Takao had a sly grin on face that he just couldn't wipe off his face. Midorima was the biggest tsundere on earth.

* * *

Midorima's parents were leaving on a Monday, so Takao brought his belongings over on the Sunday, so he could get settled in. Unfortunately, he was a little appalled as to what to bring. It wasn't as if he was never going back home, so it would probably be okay if he left a few things. He looked at his checklist and sighed.

* Toothbrush

* Underwear

* Clothes (maybe I can just borrow Shin-chan's even though he's 19 cm taller)

*Bath Towel

* Textbooks

* Spare basketball

Takao scratched his head. Why couldn't he think of anything else to bring? He shrugged at stuffed the list back into his duffel bag. The basketball actually fit inside the bag even with all his clothes inside.

An idea suddenly popped into the boy's head and he withdrew the list once more to write another item on.

* Porn

"Because I'm sure Shin-chan has none!" Takao roared with laughter at his own joke and when he finally stopped rolling on the bed, he felt rather stupid.

Takao sheepishly placed the list back into the bag, left his room, and gave his parents hugs as he left for Midorima's home. With a slight bounce in his step, Takao nearly ran all the way to his destination. He silently chided himself for being so excited but he suddenly felt extremely _free. _

Takao made a running jump for the gate and used his arms to prop himself over and hopped over. He rang the doorbell with a huge grin, and when Midorima's mother opened the door he couldn't help but smile even wider.

"Tadaima!" He chirped.

"Why, aren't you the excited one?" Midorima's mother chuckled and patted him on the back. "Come on in, and we'll get you settled."

* * *

**Thanks for sticking me till now! I promise sexytiemz comes soon... after some development. ;)**


	4. 4

**a/n: gahhh it's 2:03 am i should be sleeping. here's a nother chap tho IF THERE ARE MISTAKES ITS BECAUSE IM HALF AWAKE AOSFIJA1!**

**disclalimer: i do not own knb **

* * *

As Takao stepped into the Midorima household, he looked at everything with a different eye. He was going to be _living _in this home. His eyes swept appreciatively along the tidy house; there wasn't too much furniture, but it still looked _homey_. Pictures hung in the hallway and there was a warm ambience.

It was strange, stepping into a house you've been to countless times, but suddenly you were looking at it in a different way.

"Well, Takao-kun. Shintarou isn't home yet, so you can just get settled in the guest room okay? If you have any questions, don't be shy." Midorima's mother said as she stopped in front of a door that Takao had never approached before. It was at the end of the hallway, and Takao nodded.

"Thank you! I definitely will."

The door swung open to reveal a plain room with a queen-sized bed against a blank wall, and a window at the far end. Takao guessed that there was a closet on the same wall as the door.

"Wow! It's really nice. But… why is there a queen-sized bed in here?" Takao asked.

"Oh!" Midorima's mother laughed. "We purchased a queen-size for our master bedroom, but Shintarou's father didn't like the size, so we bought a king-size instead."

"…Why didn't Shin-cha- I mean… Midorima take it instead?"

Midorima's mother turned to look at him.

"You know, Takao-kun… It's okay if you call Shintarou Shin-chan! I've heard you call him that more than once!"

Takao grew red.

"It's…" Takao never gave a thought about him using Midorima's first name, but now that Midorima's mother confronted him_, _he felt awkward beyond words.

"Shintarou must consider you a good friend to let you call him that too!" Midorima's mother chuckled. "He's not the most approachable person and he's rather proud so… I'm really glad he has a friend like you."

"Um… haha. I guess he is sort of… you know." Takao shrugged. "It's okay! I know that deep down, Midorima's caring. And he has plenty to be proud of."

She nodded and patted Takao's cheek.

"Thank you, I'm glad you think so highly of my son."

Takao coughed and looked away. "A…ah…"

"Don't be shy Takao-kun! You're going to become Shintarou's family anyways, right? In more ways than one, too!"

She gave him a sly wink and Takao sputtered.

"W-wait, what do you-" He started and Midorima's mother placed a finger on her mouth.

"Shush… Shintarou's father is sleeping! Alright, so you just go get settled and I'll call you down for dinner whenever it's ready." She patted his back and retreated down the stairs.

Takao stood in the middle of the doorway, and watched the green-haired mother walk away with a look of aghast upon his face. He had a feeling that Midorima's father wasn't even sleeping.1

Was it just him, or was Midorima's mother dropping gay undertones _everywhere_? Or was his dream causing him to think suggestively? She really didn't seem to be a person who cared what other people thought.

Takao shook his head and turned back to the room, and shut the door behind him. Slowly, he started to take out his belongings and tried his best to make this foreign room his home.

After around half an hour had passed, Takao grew tired of organizing what little clothes he had, so he sat down in the desk of the room and awkward twirled in the chair. It didn't feel the same as Midorima's.

Sighing to himself, Takao opened his textbooks and began to finish up his homework. It was so utterly boring in the house without Shin-chan. Kanji after kanji, date after date, all the information started to accumulate and it leaked out. Takao couldn't remember a single thing he read, so he stood up, slammed the book closed, and decided to visit Midorima's room.

Tip-toeing across the hall (in case someone was _actually _sleeping, but who takes naps so late?), Takao approached Midorima's door near the top of the staircase and cracked the door open cautiously.

With a guy like Midorima, you never knew if there were booby traps or not. (Or maybe Takao was just paranoid around him)

Satisfied with his inspection, Takao stepped in to the room that he had been to on several occasions. Midorima never let him stay long in it, unfortunately. It was semi-dark, with the curtains drawn shut, but the sunshine was still leaking in from outside. There was an orange-ish glow about the room, and Takao decided that he really liked the room.

Midorima's room smelt like a particular scent and laundry detergent mixed together. Takao swore that he would find out what the scent was, because it certainly smelled heavenly. There wasn't a single piece of used clothing strewn about, and everything was neatly in place. There was even a special bookshelf for Midorima's lucky items. Takao snorted as he cast his eye upon them.

Takao marveled at the cleanliness once more before he turned to face the closet. He slid the sliding door to the right and peered within the depths. It mostly contained Midorima's uniforms but one particular white and blue basketball uniform caught his eye.

He pulled it off of its hanger and held it out in front of him.

It was Midorima's old Teikou basketball uniform, dusted with bitter memories and shining with bright, white victory.

Takao stared at it for a good long time, tracing the #6, and thinking back to the moment when he was in middle school.

Watching Midorima's shot was one of the most horrific things that Takao had ever done. It filled him with such dismay, and there was absolutely nothing that he could do to stop it. Shin-chan had left quite a mark on him, back in those days.

But when Takao had ended up on the _same team _as Midorima, he was at a loss. Gone was the hatred, but underneath that layer of malice that Takao held for Midorima (and many others), he discovered admiration and awe. If Takao were to look at it in a "Shin-chan" manner, he guessed that it was because they really were compatible as friends.

On the surface, Takao was the Cancer, but on the inside, he was truly a Scorpio. It was the opposite for Midorima.

Midorima had a malicious front, but underneath, he was kind and caring. Takao, on the other hand, was easy-going, but could become rather nitpicky on the inside.

They balanced each other out.

As Takao sat down on Midorima's bed (being careful not to wrinkle the sheets), he wondered when he started to know so much about horoscopes. He frowned and held the jersey up to his nose out of curiosity.

Takao was suddenly assaulted by an intense burst of Midorima's scent. Overwhelmed, he drew it away quickly. Almost immediately, the smell of Midorima's room took over, and Takao felt himself being attacked by the same smell over and over again.

Heaving, he ran out of the room as fast as he could and shut the door behind him. When he arrived in his own room, he took a deep breath and was infinitely glad that he could no longer smell Midorima. That scent did strange things to Takao that he was unable to explain.

Takao sat back onto his own bed and looked at his hand. He then realized that he was still holding Midorima's Teikou uniform. Unwilling to return it to it's rightful place, he folded it carefully and shoved it under his pillow.

"Living here is so troublesome…" he muttered and dove under the sheets. Takao needed a nice and long nap.

* * *

Midorima found himself in his home, wondering why there was another pair of shoes at the front door. Almost immediately, he recalled the fact that Takao was going to be staying with him. Well, he might as well use his slave well for the next few months.

Silently, Midorima ascended the stairs and entered his room. As he was in the process of changing out of his gym clothing, he froze. There was a foreign scent in the room that was familiar, but not in this context.

Stooping low to inspect his bed, he took a careful sniff and-

Oh _hell, _what was Takao doing his room?

He turned around and checked all his belongings. Everything looked untouched, but Midorima still felt uneasy. Shrugging it off, he proceeded to change and startled when there was a soft knock on his door.

"Shintarou! It's time for dinner. Call Takao down while you're at it, okay?"

Midorima grumbled under his breath and said, "Yes, mother."

As he heard his mother leave, he opened the door quietly and padded down to the end of the hallway, where Takao's room was. He rarely entered this room, but he had a feeling that would be changing in the near future.

"Takao-" he started as he opened the door, but paused as he saw the black-haired boy sprawled lazily on the large bed. His legs were entangled in the white sheets and his face was pressed up against the mattress. Midorima snorted at the weird sleeping position he was in.

The blinds were drawn open and Midorima realized how bright it was in this room. He wondered how Takao slept through the brutal sunshine, and stared back down at the boy.

"Stop it…." A voice mumbled. Midorima jumped, and realized that Takao had spoken. He froze, as if caught red-handed doing some dirty deed, but relaxed as he realized that the boy was just sleep talking.

"Oi." Midorima shook his shoulder lightly. "Wake up."

Takao groaned and shifted to the side. "No."

"Idiot! Wake up!" He slapped Takao's head and Takao emitted an angry growl.

"Go to hell!" He shouted in a sleepy voice and turned to the window.

_This idiot is a pain in the ass to wake up, _Midorima thought to himself.

He slid one hand under Takao's back, and the other under his legs, and lifted him up roughly from the bed. He was a little shocked to discover that Takao was lighter than he looked and immediately threw him back onto the bed, when he saw that Takao's eyes had flickered open.

"Ow!" He landed with a thud and sat up. "What the hell was that for, _baka!_" Takao threw a pillow at Midorima's face and slowly slid of the bed, not facing Midorima.

"Get out."

After a long pause, while Takao rubbed his eyes and sighed to himself, Midorima spoke.

"Well, it's your fault that you're absolutely _nasty _to wake up."

Takao nearly jumped five feet in the air.

"_Holy hell, _you're still here?!" He turned around and placed a hand on his chest and breathed rapidly. "That scared the heck out of me!"

Midorima scratched his head and glared at him. "Uh… sorry? That was a 30 second interval though. What the hell happened to your Hawk's Eye?"

"…Sorry. I just woke up. Not working properly." Takao sighed.

"You look like something crawled up your ass and died."

"Shut up. I haven't… I just haven't been sleeping well. And I startle easily. Insomnia and my jumpiness combined are not pleasant."

Midorima looked carefully at Takao and noticed that he did indeed look more tired than usual. He made a mental note to ask his mother what good insomnia remedies she knew of.

"Well, hurry up though. My mom's got dinner ready."

He turned on his heel and headed towards the dining room. Suddenly, Midorima wondered why he even cared. Takao's problems weren't his problems.

But he just couldn't help but worry.

* * *

**Sparkxs29: thank you bbg :) **

**Chibou: hope you enjoyed more tsundere!Midorima here 8)**

**Fantita: you guessed right heheh. i have a whole set of problems laid out for these two.**

**Quiterage: thank you! i do my best to casually weave in their emotions so it's not too... feminine.**

**Vanilla and Mint: ty ty gurl 3**

**till next time heh **


	5. 5

**a/n: **So what is an japanese **ofuro? **Read this if you don't know. It's basically a large tub of water that the whole family soaks after their shower. and yes, they take showers beforehand.

short chapter is short due to the fact that it seemed fitting. enjoy!

**disc: i dont claim to own knb **

* * *

After a comfortable dinner, Takao had gone out for a quick walk and slowly headed back to the house once more. He buzzed with excitement, and felt slightly childish. It felt like one gigantic sleepover.

However, Midorima wasn't a good sleepover buddy at all. He was severe, reserved, and stern. And his saving grace? Takao often wondered where it went; but it was Midorima's caring side that made Takao secretly admire him.

He wasn't lying to Midorima's mother about Midorima's caring side, but it was extremely hard to see it. With his intense eyes, bookish glasses, and menacing height, Midorima seemed anything _but _caring. But Takao knew. He was the biggest _tsundere _and he wouldn't forget it.

As he reentered the house, Takao felt tired and sticky. It was probably time to take a bath. After getting his pajamas, he opened the door to the washroom and froze when he saw a figure in the steam that had already formed in the tiled room.

"Oh. Sorry man. Didn't see you were here." Takao blinked as he realized it was Midorima, sitting in the _ofuro_ and wearing a particularly nasty expression.

"Well, now you can leave." He replied in a sour voice.

"Hey! You have a heated _ofuro!_ And it's _huge-_ why can't I just go in with you?"

"What, are you insane? It's tiny in here." Midorima shot back.

Takao eyed the large tub and grinned. He proceeded to strip off his t-shirt and Midorima sputtered.

"Takao! What the hell?"

As he shoved his pants and underwear down, he laughed.

"Don't worry Shin-chan, I'll shower first! I'm not that disgusting."

"You're disgusting, regardless!" Midorima crossed his arms. "I'm trying to enjoy the _ofuro, _alone. Get out this instant."

Takao whistled as stepped under the showerhead beside the_ ofuro_ and began to bathe with his back to Midorima.

Midorima hissed in annoyance and slid further down into the tub. Takao started to hum and slather soup on his body and laughed to himself as he could just picture Midorima's expression at the moment. The bathroom was silent, save for the running water and Takao's humming.

Takao suddenly froze and let the water run over his head. He could sense what Midorima was doing, and at the moment, he was staring at Takao's ass.

* * *

Midorima had no clue why he couldn't tear his eyes away from Takao's body.

_It's really nice_, he couldn't help but think.

It was slimmer than his own, but still lithe and muscular. His slightly tanned skin gave off a healthy and smooth look. His legs are toned (from the bicycle riding, probably), and were long and slim. It was far from feminine, but it was pleasantly masculine.

His eyes strayed curiously to Takao's ass.

It was a nice and perky ass.

_Wait. Did I just think perky? _

Midorima wanted to drown in the tub as he continued to stare at Takao's butt, unable to draw his eyes away from the sight. He even drank in the sight of the mole on his right cheek.

"Shin-chan… you know I can see what you're doing, right?"

Midorima was frozen in aghast. He felt horrified beyond words, guilty, disgusted, dirt-

Before he could even finish his train of thought. Takao had turned around and knelt down beside Midorima's side of the tub.

"So. Do you like what you see?"

"D-d-d…..don't" He managed to sputter. "Hell no you creep!" Midorima exploded.

He saw Takao visibly cringe at the loud burst of noise but he still continued to come closer.

"You're blushing, Midorima-kun." His use of Midorima's formal name ran a shiver down his spine and in that moment, he had a feeling that Takao was being serious.

"So, are you gay?" Takao looked seriously in the other boy's eyes, and the look was so intense that Midorima blushed.

"No, and I-" Takao raised a hand. "Okay, that's enough."

Takao regained his playful grin and he proceeded to clamber over the side of the tub.

Suddenly, Midorima- normally reserved, normally severe, and normally _so in control_ (but not lately because of a certain dark-haired boy)- snapped.

Midorima admitted it. He rarely panicked. He always had a cool composure, and when he got shocked or angered, he still managed to keep a straight face. Midorima was the cool and calm Cancer, while Takao was the outgoing Scorpio. Everything should have fallen into place, but instead Takao had to catch Midorima staring at his butt, and Midorima just_ had to_ lost control.

Why had he panicked? He guessed that it was because he hadn't wanted Takao to see that Midorima was already semi-hard. It also had to do with the fact that Midorima was struggling to understand _why exactly he was even hard_.

Midorima didn't watch porn. He wasn't a porn person. Sure, he jacked off occasionally because that was the way of life, but it wasn't like he jacked off to porn. He didn't go for anything explicit.

And he certainly wasn't gay. Yes, he met some people that were dubious with their sexuality, but Midorima had never given a thought to his own. He had also never liked a female before, but Midorima had just dubbed himself as temporarily asexual. So when an incident finally arose where a person aroused Midorima, he _definitely_ did not think or _want _it to be Takao.

So Midorima drew a blank, and did what his body told him to do. He stood up. Takao stared down and gave a little audible gasp (that was it, he had seen it) and Midorima placed his hands on Takao's chest and gave him the roughest, and hardest shove he could manage.

And as he watched Takao slip backwards with a horrified expression, Midorima knew that things had gone terribly wrong. Things seemed to move in slow motion as Takao fell back and Midorima stood stupefied at what he had done. There was a horrible _crack_ sort of noise as Takao's skull hit the hard, cold, and relentless tiled floor and Midorima tried to shout, but nothing came out of his mouth.

He lay sprawled on the floor, with his eyes closed, not moving a single inch.

Midorima stared down, unable to voice a thought or even form a thought. But panic swelled up once more and he clambered out of the tub and Takao's name tumbled out of his lips incoherently.

"Takao! _Takao, Takao, _Takao Kazunari… Answer me-" He knelt down and shook his shoulders lightly. "Oh my god, Takao… Takao…" Midorima moaned.

He lay unconscious, in an unusual display of serenity. It disturbed Midorima beyond explanation or words.

He quickly grabbed a towel, laid it over Takao's lower area, and grabbed one to wrap it around his own waist. He slammed the bathroom door open and ran down to the kitchen as fast as he could. His mother, who was washing dishes, turned around at the sound of his footfalls.

"_Okaa-san, _help me, oh god… I don't know what I did but-"

"What…?" Her eyes were wide with bewilderment.

"I think I killed Takao."

* * *

...heh


	6. 6

**a/n:** I apologize for the delay of this chapter! last week was just _hectic… _and um. I started to watch PSYCHO-PASS and sadoifajslfkjasf FEELS NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE- ok I need to shut up this is a kurobas fic

and guess what? I drank red bean soup while writing part of this :

hope you enjoy

**disclaimer: **I do not claim to own KnB.

* * *

"I think I killed Takao."

Midorima stood in the middle of the kitchen, half-naked, dripping bath water, and in a state of panic and daze. His facial expression mostly consisted of horror and guilt.

"What?" Midorima's mother almost dropped the plate she was washing. In a flash, she tore off her apron and grabbed her son's shoulders.

"Calm down honey. What's going on?" She gave him a light shake to wake him up from the trance he was in. Her son was never in a daze, and he was always lucid, observant, and… just not like this. Something was seriously wrong.

"I-i… bathroom… he fell..." He managed to work out.

She muttered an oath under her breath and immediately made her way to the bathroom as fast as she could. Breathing heavily, she stopped in front of the bathroom, and cringed at the open door. It was a bright yellow warning sign for danger.

She cautiously stepped in and gasped as she saw the figure laying prostate on the bath tiles, stark naked, save for the bath towel covering his privates.

"Takao-kun! Takao!" She knelt down beside the boy and shook his shoulders. His eyes were closed but his chest was still rising and falling. She checked his airways, made sure his pulse was O.K. and let him rest on his back. The adrenaline pumping through her veins was slowly fading away.

"He's breathing. Don't worry." She said shakily as Midorima had finally made his way back to the bathroom, unable to take a step into the bathroom, as if it were a murder scene.

"Get in here, silly. He's not dead." She said sternly to her son. He gave her a dark look and she gave him a light pinch on the ear.

"That is for that dirty look. Now, he has a concussion, and probably won't wake up yet. As soon as he does though, we need to make sure he knows his name, where he is, and who we are." She bit her lip nervously.

"I can't tell how bad it is yet, but he probably needs to rest for a week after this."

Midorima looked like he was about to break his jaw from clenching it so tightly.

"If he wakes up… and vomits…" She dropped her voice, "It's a sign that something probably went very wrong. Have the phone ready in case we need to call 1-1-9."

"_Okaa-san_… Thank you." He looked away in embarrassment.

"Ah… Shintarou. Tell me everything that happened, all right? _Okaa-san_ is here for you. " She patted his hair.

"But first. Help me move Takao to the bed."

Midorima shakily picked Takao up bridal-style and cradled him in his arms as if he were a delicate doll.

"Calm down Shintarou! He's going to be okay. Just get him to his room." His mother said soothingly.

* * *

After a few minutes of stumbling and panic, Midorima and his mother finally settled down and sat on the bed that Takao was currently lying on. Both boys were clothed. Midorima had secretly felt the back of Takao's head when his mother had left the room and felt relieved when he discovered nothing alarming.

Dark guilt, however, consumed him like a disease. Concussions were _cumulative_. What if he got another concussion and _died_?

Midorima knew he had a problem with overthinking things but he just couldn't help himself. To comfort himself, he swore that he would protect Takao to make sure that he would _never _get another head injury. He hung his head to match his heavy heart and grumbled under his breath.

"It's all his fault for…" He paused, as he noticed his mother looking at him.

"Uh." He crossed his arms and shook his head. "Nothing. It was an accident."

He suddenly felt a hand pinch his cheek and a bright sting on the left side of his face.

"Ow!" He jerked back and stared at his mother.

"Shintarou! I won't accept any vague responses! Tell me what happened!" She had lost her original stern manner but she was still all business. Midorima swallowed. There was no getting out of it. He awkwardly stared at the wall behind her, unable to voice a thought.

"I was showering."

"That is quite obvious already." She had an unimpressed expression upon her visage.

He stood up stubbornly. "No! I can't. It's too embarrassing!" He groaned. "Don't make me say it. Not with him here."

"Calm down, calm down." She grabbed his hand. "Sit down again, okay?"

Midorima took a deep breath and tried to calm his flushing face. He sat back down again, but not before flashing a look at Takao to make sure the boy wasn't awake yet.

"…Um." He sighed for the billionth time that day. Why had his horoscope told him that his day would be clear skies? This definitely was not a _clear sky_. Midorima shook his head.

What lie could he tell his mother? He racked his brain as hard as he could.

"…Shintarou. Please look at me." His heart sped up a bit as he nervously met his mother's gaze. She seemed to see everything inside of him.

"You're my son. I gave birth to you, okay? I want you to know that I'm the one who knows you the best. Other than maybe…" She trailed and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" He stuttered.

"Never mind. But let me ask you something, okay?" She patted his hand.

"Make it quick." He said awkwardly.

"Are you gay?"

* * *

Takao awoke with a head-splitting headache. He had never had a headache this bad before. It felt as if someone had taken a hammer to his skull and bruised it on the back. His stomach felt like Midorima had punched it a hundred times, and his vision was a dark tunnel. He could barely see anything, so he closed his eyes. He was unable to form a single thought, but he could hear some voices around him.

Instead of trying to get up, he focused on the voices instead.

"…..it quick." He heard Midorima say. His short clipped tone indicated that his patience was at its end.

"Are you gay?"

Takao was unable to form a reaction to this question. His whole body felt like it was frozen and he couldn't thaw it out.

He felt a weight lift off from the bed and some rustling.

"Shintarou, sit down." Ah, it was Midorima's mother. She sounded strangely serious.

"You don't have to answer me now. Just tell me what happened first, alright?"

There was another long silence and Takao was tempted to try and open his eyes again. He wasn't sure what exactly what was going on but he guessed that he better stay still. Midorima might hurt him again if he realized Takao was awake.

"…I pushed him." It was barely above a whisper but they all heard it. It hung in the air like a dirty smell that wouldn't go away. There was another pause after he said this, as if he had confessed to a crime.

"Why?" Her voice was still smooth and patient.

"Because it was a blatant invasion of my privacy and it was downright rude! He was trying to get into the _ofuro_." He burst out and Takao forced himself not to flinch at the sudden loud noise. He also felt irritated that Midorima was going on about his side of the story when Takao was unable to say a thing. His head hurt too much for him to say a single word. He was convinced that if he even tried to utter something, his skull would crack right open and his brains would fall out.

_Midorima you asshole…!_

"If it happens again, please try and ask him to leave, instead of... By the way, haven't you two already been to baths together? What's so embarrassing…?" She questioned.

"I-" He started but stopped. "I won't go into details but I was downright uncomfortable with the thought of him getting into the bath with me at the moment."

"Can you answer my previous question now?" She whispered.

There was another long and painful silence.

Takao took a deep breath and shifted. He felt his body reaching for something, but it was just out of its grasp. Frustrated, he tried harder. He felt himself shifting and he released a long breath; a breath of life.

"Takao-kun?" Midorima's mother asked. "Oh, he's awake!"

He slowly tried to open his eyes again, and found that everything was clearer, but his head was still throbbing. Disoriented? Very.

"…What…" He groaned and clutched his head.

Midorima suddenly grabbed his head as well and turned it towards his own face. He stared into Takao's eyes with such intensity that it almost made him blush. His usual drawn eyebrows and sour look was gone and instead, there was a look of worry and anxiety instead.

"Tell me your name."

Takao blinked. "…Takao Kazunari, pleased to meet you."

Midorima slowly opened his mouth. "…Do you know who I am?"

"Uh…" Midorima's expression grew worse.

"_Senpai_…I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't forget the name of a good-looking guy like you!" Takao burst into laughed and Midorima grabbed his neck.

"You idiot!" He roared and Takao laughed even harder until his felt like his head was about to burst. Midorima started to shake him a little and Takao felt like someone crushed his skull under a bulldozer.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, stop! Stop! I'm sorry!" Takao cried and Midorima's mother got up and pulled her son away.

"Shintarou! Calm down!" She said with the fierceness of a mother tiger.

"How can you joke at time like _this?_ You fuc-" He exploded.

"I'm sorry. It's just that…" Takao muttered quietly.

Midorima and his mother fell silent.

"It's just that… I don't know what happened." He lied.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Midorima stared at him.

"…The last thing I remember…" He pretended to rack his brain. "I went out for a walk." Takao swallowed with difficulty.

"That's it?" Midorima breathed.

"Yea." Takao said. "I don't remember anything."

* * *

Takao remembered everything. He remembered everything from the shower, to the second that he felt himself falling to the floor. He remembered Midorima's red face, his uneasiness, the warmth of the bath water, and Midorima's hard-on.

He remembered everything.


	7. 7

**a/n: hiii. how y'all doin. -v- i went to a con today and SAW A MIDORIMA AND TAKAO THERE. _they were so perfect _ i cried and took pics of them ;_; im so done**

**disclaimer: **i dont claim to own knb ty

* * *

After they had made sure that Takao had no other lapses in his memory, Midorima and his mother left the room in order to give him some peace and quiet. Midorima silently followed his mother out of the room, glad to be able to breathe normally for the first time in an hour. His mother gestured for him to follow her to the living room, and Midorima felt rather nervous.

It was interrogation time.

"Sit down, Shintarou."

Unwilling to protest in this precarious situation, Midorima sat down stiffly in the love seat, and his mother took a seat on the larger sofa.

"I'm not going to punish you, you can relax." She crossed her arms in a way that said _You did wrong, but I'm just going to make you feel bad_.

"So. As you are certainly aware of, our flight is tomorrow, and we definitely cannot cancel it." She sighed.

"I…I'm sorry." He managed with difficulty.

"I don't need your apology Shintarou. I want your promise that you'll take care of Takao to the best of your ability." She looked at him sternly.

"It's unforgivable if you injure him _and _not care for him properly. I know we called him here to take care of _you_, but under these circumstances…"

"It'll be a learning experience." Midorima belted out. "I'll take care of him. He'll be fine. I mean… I feel absolutely horrid. I don't think I could live if something permanent happened because of something that _I _did, and-"

"Shh… It's fine. I understand." His mother held up her hand. "If I could, I would cancel our flight and stay here… but the company needs us there immediately."

Midorima clenched his jaw.

"So, he's going to need rest for the rest of the week. I expect that you'll bring home his homework for the time being, right?"

"_Okaa-san_, don't ask rhetorical questions. You know I'm obliged to say yes." He sighed.

"As long as you understand." She gave him a wry smile. "Now. Here are a couple of things you should know how to cook…"

* * *

After Midorima sat through his mother's long lecture (none of the information seemed to compute within his brain), he got the house ready for the night, and turned everything off on the first floor. As he trudged up the stairs, his thoughts weighed heavily on his conscience.

His mother had turned in for the night and he guessed that he should be heading to his room. Instead, he found himself (unwillingly?) staring at the wooden door of the guest room. Midorima walked forward, and stood hesitantly at the entrance.

He swallowed and opened the door quietly.

His eyes dropped hastily to the floor, but when he realized no one had reacted to his entrance, he looked at the figure on the bed. Takao was asleep, once more, and was curled up on his side.

Releasing a breath that he realized he had been holding, Midorima closed the door behind him, and wondered why his heart was pounding.

He felt slightly creepy as he stood at the foot of the bed, watching Takao sleep in peace. Guided by some unknown force, Midorima slowly walked to the right side of the bed and sat down softly on the mattress.

This was hard for Midorima. He knew that he botched up big time, and the problem was that he rarely ever did make mistakes. How convenient.

Guilt swirled in the pit of his belly and it made him reach out for Takao's head. He ran his fingers through his hair, and was slightly surprised to find that the boy's hair was nice and smooth. It was rather soft (but not too soft like a girl's), and he liked running his hands through the locks, he discovered. Midorima felt the back of his skull once more to reassure himself that there was nothing there, before he withdrew his hand.

"…I'm sorry." He muttered to no one in particular. He felt as if he owed a thousand apologies to Takao. Sure, he invaded his privacy, but Midorima admitted that he went too far.

Midorima felt his body relax, and he discovered that he was quite exhausted from the commotion. Midorima stretched himself out on the bed, and he reached out languidly to turn off the bedside lamp.

Darkness engulfed him and Takao. The blinds weren't drawn and he could still make out Takao's sleeping face.

He listened to Takao's loud and slow breathing (that neared snoring) and was slightly lulled to sleep. In the back of his head, he knew that he should have moved to his own room, but he just felt so _lazy_.

"Sorry…" He sighed again before his world was shrouded with black.

Midorima was asleep.

* * *

Takao woke up feeling extremely _slow_. His body didn't seem to obey any of his commands, but when it did, it did it at the speed of 1km/h. His eyes finally opened and they darted to the bedside clock.

_6:21 a.m._

He blinked a few times before he realized there was a figure slightly obscuring his view of the clock. A large one, in fact.

His senses finally started to kick in, and he found himself sniffing an eerily familiar scent. A scent that belonged in an entirely different room, but was etched like an engraving on a tombstone into his mind.

He stuck a hand out, but it met a hard wall of muscle. He looked forward, and was greeted by Midorima's calm and sleeping visage. He even forgot to take of his glasses.

_What the hell was Midorima doing in his bed? _Takao guffawed. He stared at his closed eyes, and the relaxed eyebrows that were usually drawn together. Soft eyelashes framed his eyes and Takao had an urge to touch them. Too bad he was wearing glasses.

_Don't tell me… he got so worried that he fell asleep here? _Takao snickered. It was a kind gesture, but one that made Takao slightly embarrassed. Friends did not usually fall asleep in their friends beds.

Then again, friends didn't usually give each other concussions, and friends usually didn't get hard-ons from looking at their friends showering.

He gulped and tried to slip silently out of the bed without waking Midorima. His feet finally touched the cool hardwood floor, and he tiptoed out into the hallway. There was a dead silence, and Takao gathered that Midorima's parents had already left for the airport. He cringed at the thought of his injury delaying them, and he was glad that they were on their way.

Takao wound up in the bathroom andlocked the door behind him, just in case. He stared at the tiled floor where he fell last night, and pondered about last night's events with a throbbing head. Nothing was registering properly yet, so he turned on the shower and stood under the faucet.

He remembered the flush that overcame him when he realized Midorima was staring at him. What had he been looking at? His butt? His back?

Was he gay?

And what was that hard-on about?

"Arrgh…" He groaned and grabbed the soap bar. After he finished lathering himself with the soap, he let the water wash it all off of his body. Takao suddenly felt self-conscious and wondered what his body had looked like to Midorima.

His breathing quickened and he looked down, mystified. He was getting a little hard himself.

Unabashedly, Takao grasped his length and closed his eyes. Unconsciously, he imagined Midorima's perfect fingers wrapped around his length. Takao leaned his head against the tiled wall and screwed his eyes shut, completely lost in his imagination. He kept replaying last night's scenes in his head, over and over again, and was overwhelmed by a sudden ache in his chest, followed by another throbbing in his head.

He came silently into his own hand, and covered his mouth with his free hand, wondering what exactly just happened.

The scales had been tipped, thoughts had been kicked into gear, and there was no going back.

* * *

Hehe. Sorry for cliffhangering you guys for two weeks in a row. YOUR REVIEWS **ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED ;33;; **

****If you could, review! It really keeps me going. 3 see ya soooon


	8. 8

**a/n: HEH IM BACK WITH ANOTHER LATE NIGHT CHAPTER : enjooy. **plus, thanks for all the reviews ;v;; THEY MAKE ME HAPPY BEYOND WORDS OKKKK

**disclaimer : i dun own knb**

* * *

Midorima saw his mother. He saw his mother in a great white space, where there was nothing but him and the figure standing in front of him. She came closer, until she stood right in front of him.

Although he knew that he was taller than his mother, he suddenly felt a lot shorter than her at the moment. She towered over him with a menacing glare.

"Son… if you don't take care of Takao… your luck will be horrible next year!" She pointed at him.

* * *

Midorima woke up with a gasp and cracked his eyes open. It was just a dream.

The thought of his year being unlucky frightened him to pieces.

He stretched and rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling with a lethargy that comes after a hectic night. He shot straight up when he realized that this was not his own room. Midorima looked frantically around, and remembered that he fell asleep in Takao's room, He turned around, but there was no one beside him.

"Takao?" He called out. The door had been thrown open and Midorima immediately got off the bed. Panic swelled in his chest. What if something happened to Takao? He wasn't even in his peak condition.

He saw a light from the crack under the bathroom door and immediately tried to open it. It was locked. The panic grew worse and Midorima hollered at the top of his lungs.

"Takao Kazunari, open this door_, now!_" He bellowed.

There was the sound of water shutting off, some fumbling (for a ridiculously long time), and finally, the turning of the knob.

The door cracked open a sliver, and Midorima smelt soap escaping from the crack. Irritated, Midorima firmly grasped the handle and pulled it open fiercely. Takao stood in the doorway with a strange expression on his face and a dark hue that suffused his cheeks.

"You idiot! Why did you lock the door? What if something had happened…" Midorima started to ramble but stopped at the sight of Takao's face. Somehow, the boy looked as if he was going to cry or explode.

"What… happened?"

* * *

The moment Midorima had knocked on the bathroom door, Takao thought that he experienced a heart attack. The sudden noise startled him (as most sudden noises do) and he jumped five feet into the air. Adrenaline immediately kicked in and Takao seemed hyper-aware of everything.

When he had finally managed to reach the door, Midorima had flung it open, and at the sight of his best friend, he was speechless.

Just a few minutes ago, he had been leaning against the bathroom wall, breathing and moaning while having a sick fantasy about his own friend. Takao felt beyond dirty and ashamed, but he also didn't know what to make of the experience. So when he came face to face with the green-haired boy, he was at a loss for words.

He knew he was blushing furiously, and he just couldn't meet his eyes.

"Is your head still doing okay?" Midorima asked awkwardly. His usual fierceness was gone and he seemed worried and overprotective. Takao's heart leaped a little, but he told it to sit down and calm itself.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. I'll head back to my room. "

"Wait. Let me check you temperature." Midorima grasped his head with a strong hold and Takao had to stop himself from melting. His cool and slender fingers reached under his bangs and touched his forehead.

"Hm… You seem fine." Midorima had an extremely concentrated look upon his face.

"I'm fine! Fine, okay? I'm going to my room." Takao averted his gaze and tried to side step away.

Midorima was unwilling to let him go.

"…Are you angry with me?" His expression was back to his normal one. Eyebrows set in an almost angry but stern V.

"No! No! God no. Just leave me alone!" Takao burst out and made a dash for his room, slamming the door behind him. He made sure to lock it before sliding down against the door. His breath came out in short breaths.

"Jesus…" He looked up at the ceiling. "What's going on…"

* * *

Midorima stood stunned, in the middle of the hallway. His eyes were still glued onto the guest room, no, Takao's door. Midorima slowly approached it, making sure not to make loud footsteps.

He placed a hand on the door and wondered if Takao was right on the other side. Lightly, he tried to turn the doorknob.

Locked. Predictable.

Midorima knocked softly on the door as a signal.

"Look… Takao. I'm sorry about yesterday, but I have to get to school. My mom told me to bring you back all your schoolwork so just rest at home. And…" Midorima felt as if he was going to add some tacky "get well soon" sort of ending onto the end of that sentence.

"Never mind." Midorima grunted. He turned on his heel and made his footfalls audible.

Takao could take care of himself, he told himself. He needed to _stop _worrying. Takao was an idiot but he wasn't completely stupid.

Midorima shook his head and made his way to his room.

* * *

Midorima's day was filled with questions about Takao and his well-being. He didn't know why he was so irritated whenever someone asked, but he simply replied, "He's sick."

They would them nod sympathetically and walk away quickly to avoid Midorima's angry glare.

He shook his head. It was embarrassing enough actually explaining the true events that had transpired to the Shuutoku basketball team. They had all gaped and exploded at his words, much to Midorima's chagrin.

Ootsubo had caught up to him afterwards and placed a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Take care of him, so he can come back soon, alright? And try not to end up hating each other." He grinned ruefully.

It might already be too late for that. Midorima suspected that Takao was secretly harbouring anger towards him, or something. Frustrations welled up within him. Yesterday had been the unluckiest day, _ever_.

By the time he had gotten home from practice (and dinner with the team), the lights were all off in his house. He ventured into the living room, but none of the lights were on, on the first floor, save for the dining room light. Midoroima inspected the room, suspiciously, and stopped in his tracks as he saw something left on the table.

He walked closer and bent his head to look at it.

It was a light brown-green substance that looked like green bean soup. There was a yellow post-it note attacked onto the spoon beside it. Midorima set down his bag on the chair and grabbed the note.

_Hey Shin-chan! Hope you had a good time at school. Did everyone miss me? I bet they did. Anyways, here's some green bean soup. I'm sorry it's not the _shiruko _you usually have but it's close enough. Remind me to buy red beans soon. _

_P.s. I'm not mad_

_Takao_

Midorima glared suspiciously at the note and the soup. Was this revenge, or a peace offering? After deciding that it was safe, he plopped down onto the chair and took a sip of the dessert. It tasted surprisingly good, but wasn't close to his favourite red bean soup.

He also guessed that this was some sort of Chinese dessert, and wondered where Takao had learned to make it.

After washing the dishes, he quietly crept up the stairs and took a quick shower. He noticed that the _ofuro_ wasn't filled. Midorima got ready for bed but a niggling feeling would not leave him.

He gave up and decided to checke up on the idiot.

The door was unlocked and the lights were off. He guessed that Takao was already asleep. He softly tread his way into the room, and stood a couple of metres away from the figure on the bed.

There was nothing but the sounds of breathing for quite a long time.

"What the hell are you doing, watching me sleep." A grumpy but fully-awake voice piped up. Midorima crossed his arms.

"I knew it. You weren't asleep."

"Yeah. Couldn't… can't fall asleep." He groaned and turned facedown onto the mattress. Midorima walked over to the bed and sat down on it. The mattress dipped slightly under his weight.

"Thanks…" He grumbled.

"For what?"

"…Don't be stupid. The soup." He sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh. Yeah. No problem."

There was a long and drawn-out silence. Midorima swung his legs onto the bed and crawled under a section of the blanket.

"W-what are you doing, idiot?" Takao sputtered.

"Well, we need to talk." Midorima quipped. "And I'm cold."

The pair laid under the same blanket, in a comfortable absence of noise. Takao flipped around and stared up at the dark ceiling with Midorima. He stretched his hands behind his head.

"Uh… so… I hope you'll forgive me." Midorima said quietly.

"It's fine. I can't really remember what happened, so…"

"is your head feeling fine though?"

"Yeah. I'm… not completely fine, since I feel a bit sluggish. Would be nice if I could get some sleep though." He mumbled.

"How'd you learn to cook?" Midorima interrupted.

"Oh. When my parents were away, I decided to learn." Takao said.

"Tell me everything you know how to make." Midorima ordered.

So they laid in the darkness and talked about recipe after recipe, from spaghetti to _saba_. Takao grew slower and slower with his replies and eventually, as Midorima was about to make another inquiry, there was no reply.

"Takao?" He whispered.

Judging from the heavy breathing, Midorima figured he was asleep. Against his will, a small smile touched his lips and he turned around to face the other side of the bed.

He was glad that Takao found sleep.

Now, it was his turn.

* * *

see ya soooooooon ! please review!


	9. 9

**A/N:** How are all your Novembers doing? Starting X'mas shopping? I know I am. Anyways, enjoy this (once again, late-night so I apologize for possible errors) update. Thank you for your reviews and feed back! I'm reading every one earnestly 3

**Disclaimer:** _I don't claim to own Kuroko no Basuke etc. _

* * *

The next morning, Takao awoke beside another person for the second time in a row. He sat up slowly, trying not to wake the figure beside him. He shook his head once, twice, before realizing the situation.

_I guess he fell asleep here last night… _Takao stretched his arms up to the ceiling. It was the first time he had gotten such a good night's sleep in quite a long time. Takao looked behind him and silently thanked the green-haired boy peacefully sleeping on the bed. He was on his back, and he had once again forgotten to take off his glasses. They were askew on his face and Takao resisted the temptation to take a picture to blackmail him with. That would definitely get him kicked out of the house.

Instead, he lightly took a hold of the glasses and took them off. After setting them on the bedside table, he returned to Midorima's face. His eyebrows (which were usually set in a fierce line) were expressionless and soft. It was like seeing a vicious tiger sleep. But Takao knew that Midorima's fierceness merely hid his tender caring side. That side of him had finally resurfaced and Takao felt himself admiring Midorima even more.

He peered at his face, observing the contours, the blemishes, the smoothness, and his firm mouth. Takao sat there for quite a long time, staring at the pink of Midorima's lips. As he leaned closer to get a closer look, he wondered if his admiration was what he thought it was.

His palms got a little sweaty. Takao could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage as he brought his face closer and closer to Midorima's.

It was like a game of _how-close-can-you-get-to-the-tiger-without-getting-eaten-up? _

But as Takao became even more transfixed on the heat of those lips, he wondered if he had already been devoured.

He came so close, that he could feel the warmth of Midorima's lips on his own, but they weren't quite touching. He could smell Midorima's shampoo and bath wash. A sudden blush overcame him and he quickly turned away and dove under the bed.

He was definitely consumed.

* * *

Midorima had awaken a good ten minutes before Takao had. He had quietly laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, pondering over his relationship with Takao. It had definitely shifted and Midorima found himself more protective over the boy, even though Takao was a rowdy, energetic and capable person who could take care of himself.

As he was wondering whether his feelings towards Takao were motherly, he heard Takao shift and rouse. He closed his eyes, not sure why his heart was pounding. He supposed that it was rather awkward, waking up in the same bed as your _male _friend.

There was no movement for a long time, so Midorima's thoughts strayed to his Oha-Asa horoscope. He hadn't checked it this morning, and he absolutely _had to _once he got up from bed. It was a ritual.

As Midorima finally mustered up the decision to get up, Takao moved again. Midorima itched to move under the blanket and just as his temper was about to snap, he felt warmth very close to his face. His lips suddenly felt hot and he could almost feel something touching them like a feather. Midorima cracked his eyes open a millimeter and almost jolted as he saw Takao's face mere inches from his own.

_Wh-_

In a flash, Takao had turned around and hidden under the blanket. Midorima felt his face growing as red as tomato. But what was worse was that he felt himself wondering what Takao's lips would feel like under his own.

* * *

Takao started to return to school that morning, and Midorima had acted as if he had no knowledge of this morning's incident. He knew that he should have punched Takao in the face but he also knew that if he did, their relationship would be in tatters.

That night, before going to bed, Midorima spent a good hour on the computer. He didn't know what he was trying to search for, but he automatically typed in…

[ _Cancer Scorpio Friendship _]

He automatically clicked a link that said "Cancer-Scorpio Compatibility" without a second thought.

[ _Cancers are highly intellectual beings that are polite and thoughtful. They also tend to be rather cynical and cautious. Cancers are careful people. _]

Midorima smiled. This obviously described his character.

[ _Scorpios are sharp and magnetic people who are known for their willpower. _]

Midorima snorted. Takao was definitely strong-willed. He was a stubborn ass, that's for sure.

[ _This pair is bound to have good relations and will enjoy the company of another mature individual._ ]

Midorima wondered if this was true. Takao was a big idiot sometimes.

He kept scrolling down and froze at another paragraph.

[_This pair is also bound to feel attracted to each other on a romantic level._ ]

Midorima slammed his laptop cover down immediately and stood up.

"No." He said to no one.

_Oh god… _He clutched his head. _What am I scared of? Just read the goddamn thing!_

Midorima breathed and opened the laptop once more. The screen illuminated and he scanned the text.

[ _Scorpio is able to break through and understand Cancer's dark outer shell. _]

He scratched his head. Was this true? Midorima guessed that Takao did break through some of his defences when he suddenly befriended him and nicknamed him "Shin-chan". He nodded and read on.

_[ Cancer is able to meet Scorpio's eagle-like intense gaze and is attracted to Scorpio's sexuality_. ]

_Wow, _was that one spot on. They even got his special ability nailed down. Midorima loved horoscopes and the way they predicted everything flawlessly.

_Wait. _Sexuality? Takao was _sexy_? Midorima roared in his mind.

His thoughts strayed to the bath incident and blushed furiously as he remembered the image of Takao's ass. Midorima slapped a hand over mouth and tried to rid himself of that memory. It was useless, obviously.

He looked out his door and noticed that Takao's light was off. Not sure as to what course of action he was going to take, Midorima sat idly in his chair and checked up on several more horoscopes to pass the time. After about an hour had passed, he shut everything off and crept to Takao's room.

Worry had consumed him again, since Takao was already going to school even though he should probably be resting. He cracked the door open and slipped in. Everything was silent and still.

This time, he would greet him first.

"Takao." Midorima said in a low voice.

He stood there for a good five minutes and he started to turn around and leave.

"Idiot. Just hurry up." Takao grunted and lifted a side of the blanket up for Midorima to slip in.

The two got settled into bed together as if it were the most natural thing in the world, while they tried to ignore the existence of their wildly pounding hearts. But it was like trying to ignore someone poking a pencil into your thigh while you're writing a Calculus test.

They lay in bed together, pretending that it was normal for average males in a friendship to sleep together in the same bed when there was clearly an abundance of beds.

Midorima thought about why he was even here.

It was definitely because he couldn't ignore the seed of worry that had been planted in his heart ever since he gave Takao that concussion. Maybe it was already there. Perhaps it had just been triggered to start growing. He didn't know.

What he did know, was that something was growing there.

And he had no idea what the fruit of the seed would be.

* * *

ciaoooosu (did you see that? heh)


	10. 10

**A/N: NOTE THIS IS A REVISED CHAPTER OF CHAPTER 10. I WILL BE DELETING THE OLD VER. IN 2 DAYS.**

**DISCLAIMER: i dont own knb**

* * *

For the next two days, a stiff and awkward routine began.

It went like this.

Takao would prepare their _bento_s early in the morning (with some prep done at night, of course) after waking up earlier than Midorima. They would then head off to school together, and head home after practice (if there was any). They would head straight to their prospective bedrooms, do some homework, and Takao would then prepare a hasty dinner. Takao liked to think himself as a decent cook, but he was just glad that Midorima wasn't complaining like he usually did.

They would sit down in silence, eat their dinner at the speed of light, and then head off to the bath. Midorima always went first, unless he offered to do the dishes (which he had not done so yet). Takao was slightly annoyed by this fact.

However, the more peculiar thing was that every night, Midorima would silently slip into Takao's room and they had a mutual agreement to not speak about these events. They both knew Takao wasn't falling asleep otherwise. Takao understood that he had benefits from this strange situation but he didn't see what Midorima was gaining from it.

It made him wonder if Midorima did indeed hold some sort of attraction that was not platonic for him. The bathroom incident certainly seemed to support this.

However, on the third morning, the balance was broken.

Every morning Takao would do the exact same thing. He would bring his face as close to Midorima's to see how far he could go without shying away. What he didn't know, was that every morning, Midorima was painfully conscious of what Takao was doing.

The strange thing was, Midorima wanted Takao to continue. He wanted to know what would happen once their lips connected. Would it be dry? Were there going to be fireworks like in those movies? Certainly not. But he couldn't help wonder what kind of fire Takao's lips would bring to his own.

Midorima struggled with this thought. He certainly was _not_ gay. Scratch that. He certainly was not attracted to any gender whatsoever, up until this point. He had never liked a girl. And he _certainly _had never liked a boy before either. He wasn't grossed out, and he wasn't even caring about what other people might think. Midorima just found it odd that his closest friend would become like this.

If something really happened between them, what would happen to this balance that they maintained while they lived together? There were so many questions that Midorima wanted to answer but he just couldn't.

Midorima didn't think he was homophobic. He didn't think that Takao was either.

So the third morning, he made up his mind to end his perpetual frustration. The past few days had been full of secret glances, pounding hearts and awkward moments. He wanted it to stop. Midorima couldn't stand it anymore.

So that morning, when Takao once again got up silently before Midorima, he decided to do something different this time. He wasn't going to just lay down and let him play his stupid game.

So when he felt the heat of Takao's lips near his, he reached out and grabbed Takao's head and directed it towards the most natural course, straight to his own lips.

Finally, their lips touched and Midorima decided that it was better than he imagined. It was an innocent, closed mouth kiss and all he could feel was the soft dryness of Takao's lips pressed up against his own. But suddenly, he couldn't stop. He wanted more.

* * *

The moment he felt something grab his head, Takao knew he had been caught in Midorima's trap. His heart leapt wildly as he knelt there, head bent down towards Midorima's, and their mouths connected. But Midorima started to shift and the next thing he felt was his back slamming back into the mattress, arms pinning down his own wrists and the heat of lips on his own. It was like a wildfire coursing through his veins, the kiss. Takao could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and he could feel his heartbeat in every single finger

The moment he tried to open his mouth to gasp, Midorima pried his lips open and started to kiss him furiously. Suddenly, it was all moisture and he could feel the soft and burning heat of Midorima's lips pressing hard against his own. He found the courage to kiss him back, and they stayed there for a long time, kissing each other sloppily, and reveling in the gentle moist sounds that they were producing.

But as soon as Takao let out a small groan, Midorima snapped back. Suddenly, all the heat was gone and he was staring up at a glassy-eyed Midorima. Stunned, he lay there, staring at the ceiling as Midorima (the coward) fled to his room and slammed the door loudly in the process.

He flinched and lay there for a minute or two, dazed.

That was the most satisfying kiss he had ever had to date, but the ending to the kiss was the most disappointing yet.

* * *

Midorima knew that he had finally _done _something, but now he was unable to face the consequences.

He was unable to meet Takao's eyes for the rest of the day, He was afraid that if he did, he would find himself grabbing Takao's face again and kissing him senselessly. So there, all he had done was to confirm his attraction for the boy.

As he sat silently in class, he stole a look at his Oha-Asa horoscope.

[ _Cancer's have a neutral day today. It could go great or it could go bad. Make sure you have your lucky item! _]

Of course he wanted it to be good. But what was the definition of _good _today? Did he want to…

Did he want to kiss Takao again? Would that merit to a good day? What did Midorima _want_?

This question bugged him for the whole day up until the pair parted for practice. Takao silently waved without looking at him and had marched away without uttering a single word. They hadn't spoken all day, and Takao had been keeping a completely straight face.

Cunning Scorpios.

Midorima found himself disoriented during practice and he refused to take a single shot. He definitely felt unlucky, despite having the lucky item of the day in his pocket. Midorima was in a dark mood and the rest of the team steered clear of him that day.

Once he returned home, he quickly ate the dinner that Takao had left on the table for him and rushed back to his room to finish his schoolwork.

He marveled at his ability to do any homework in this state of mind.

When the door to his room slammed open like a gunshot, Midorima froze in his chair. He found himself fearing what was going to happen next. This time, he wasn't the predator.

This time he was the prey.

* * *

Takao had sat in front of his desk for a good half an hour, constructing an intelligent lecture that he was going to give Midorima. He had inserted a ton of pretentious words to lash out at Midorima with, but the moment he burst into the green-haired boy's room, he was at a loos of words. The whole prepared speech had gone out the window.

Instead, the rising fury bubbled up.

"Do you have any idea how _frustrating _you are?" Takao started.

"I _know _what happened that night in the bath. I know!" He nearly shouted. "And then this morning! Do you have any right to leave like that? You and I need to have a serious talk, _now_." He stuck out an accusatory finger at Midorima.

There was a short pause while Midorima blinked at him with a confused stare. But realization crept in like a dark fog and his expression turned murderous.

"You _knew_?" He said. "You knew and you said nothing? How could you="

"I was doing it for your sake!"

"My sake? You might as well just slap me in the face with the tail of _a dirty lie_." He hissed.

Takao guffawed. "You're not grateful? Alright. I guess that's it then. You do all these things to me and don't bother to offer me a bloody _explanation_…"

"Homosexuality is gross. That is all I have to say." Midorima stared at him with a poised expression. It irked Takao beyond words and he wanted to punch him.

"_Gross_?" Takao shouted. "_Gross?_" He hollered.

"You are the gross one. You disgust me with your homophobia, or whatever it is." Takao felt his fist connected with the side of Midorima's face and the impact caused him to fly sideways onto his bed.

"What the hell is your problem?" Midorima shouted as he clutched his red cheekbone and he looked as if he were about to wring Takao's neck.

"I can have my own opinions!" He exploded.

"Not when your opinions are obviously the opposite of what your actions say!" Takao stepped closer, and Midorima glared down at him, not willing to give up.

"What do you want?" Midorima said lowly. "Tell me what the point of this argument is. Then, I'll listen to you. "

Takao took another step.

"What I want you to do, is to look at me right now."

"Oh, I'm looking alright." Midorima narrowed his eyes.

Takao closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was no point in arguing with Midorima with a hot temper. There needed to be solid reasoning.

"Tell me why you kissed me." He trembled, fearing that the answer would not be what he wished it to be.

Midorima continued to glare at him with his usual disdainful look and Takao decided it was hopeless. Even though Takao felt that he was deadly persistent, he guessed that he wasn't persistent enough to break down Midorima.

He slid his gaze from Midorima's and stared at the floor with a heavy heart.

"Because…" Midorima finally said.

"_Becauseourhoroscopespredicte dthatwewouldbecomeromantical lyattracted!_" He burst out in a jumbled mess of words.

"_What_?" Takao felt his mouth hanging open. "Because of our _horoscopes_?"

"You heard what I said." Midorima said.

"You have got to be kidding me." Takao stared up at him. But slowly, a sly grin crept onto his face. Realization kicked in.

"You're using that as an excuse." He deadpanned. "You're sexually attracted to me and you don't know how to explain it." Takao tapped his head. "I've got it all figured out, silly."

Midorima glared down at him indignantly. "Watch what you're saying. You don't have a _clue_-" He started but Takao raised a finger to the boy's lips.

"Shh…" He said gently. Takao looked up at him with the softest expression he could muster up. "Just listen to me."

* * *

Midorima stared at Takao. He had the gentlest look on his face and Midorima felt himself giving in.

"Just listen to me."

Midorima had a niggling feeling that Takao understood him better than he did himself. He found the things that Midorima wanted to bury and shoved them into his face.

"How about we both just stop thinking about this, and we'll do what our instinct tells us." Taka took the last step forward so that his chest was touching Midorima's.

"Please. Just don't think anymore." He said quietly.

Midorima wanted to sit down and think through their relationship, but Takao wanted the opposite. He felt uneasy going forward without a clear label in mind, but he also felt that their current relationship had no label. It was unique in it's own way.

He wanted to stop trying to calm his beating heart and he wanted to stop resisting. Is that what Takao meant?

To hell with his dilemmas.

Midorima reached out and grabbed Takao's chin and tried to find consolation in his sweet lips once more.


	11. 11

**Author Note: **Okay, I'm glad to receive so much feedback from the revised chapter, but I think I need to clarify that someone _did _tell me that they thought the ending was a little poor... but I already felt that I didn't write it up to par of my usual stuff. I won't always be scrambling to write my stories fit to readers expectations (cuz i feel like i dont write that way in the first place) but sometimes I will try to change a thing or two. flexibility is nice.

anyways. i hope you liked it anyways! :/

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kurobas

* * *

"Stop!" Takao held out a hand.

Midorima was just about to lean in and connect their lips, but suddenly there was a hand blocking the way. And it was Takao's hand.

"Wait." He said.

"Are you joking with me." Midorima growled lowly. "Put your hand down this instant."

"I changed my mind. I know that I told you to just go with your instincts… and I know that we both want this." Midorima watched him swallow in nervousness. He wanted to slap away his hand and devour Takao but he still wanted to hear him out.

Midorima took a step back with difficulty and he crossed his arms.

"What do you want now? You've already embarrassed me enough."

Takao grew a bit red and he shook his head. "I… Let's give this some time before we come back to it."

"Time?" Midorima repeated.

"I-I want to make this good." Takao blushed and Midorima observed his cheeks growing a nice shade of red. He felt himself blushing a bit as well, unwillingly.

_Stop it. Stop blushing. This is so embarrassing. _Midorima cleared his throat and looked away.

"We're both inexperienced, right?" He continued and Midorima held up a hand in protest.

"Okay. I get the gist." He said. "You can go."

Takao blinked and stared at him. Midorima felt slightly disappointed at this outcome.

_Was he really not going to do anything?_

"Okay…" Takao raised an eyebrow. The two stood there awkwardly for another few seconds or so before Takao turned to leave.

"We'll talk about this in a few days." He made it halfway to the door before Midorima reacted.

He took a few steps, grabbed the boy by his shoulders and spun him around.

"At least give me something to last a few days on!" Midorima grabbed his face and brought him close.

* * *

Takao had almost made it to the door, but he was silently disappointed that Midorima hadn't taken an initiative to _do_ something.

When he felt a hand on his shoulder, his heart leapt, and Takao was succumbed with joy; a joy that he was surprised to feel.

And when he felt Midorima's lips on his own, he wanted to thank someone. He didn't know he wanted this.

Midorima awkwardly continued to press his lips onto Takao's, like he wasn't sure of what to do. Takao grinned a little and brought his arms around and slid them around Midorima's waist.

He loved Midorima's height. He was so much taller than Takao, and he felt safe whenever he stood beside him. Takao usually hated relying on others, but when it was with Midorima, it felt right.

He pressed his body against the other boy's, and felt Midorima hesitantly place his arms onto Takao's back as well.

It was like a game of Simon Says.

Takao opened his mouth tentatively and Midorima reacted predictably. He tilted his head and began to give him hard open-mouthed kisses, filled with desire but tinged with inexperience. Takao kissed him back, and marveled in the soft feel of Midorima's mouth. He tasted of toothpaste and Takao went ahead and inserted his tongue. Midorima tightened his hold on Takao and they slowly stroked their tongues against each other's. It was the most erotic thing Takao had ever done.

When Takao withdrew to take a breath, Midorima stared at him with hooded eyes.

"More." Was all he said before leaning in again.

And then they were kissing again, trying to sate their hunger, but Takao shifted his feet and then they were falling.

They fell in a tangle onto the floor but neither of them seemed to notice.

Suddenly while they were frozen in their positions as they heard the doorbell ring. Takao quickly detached himself from Midorima and bolted out the room without a second look.

_Thank god we stopped. Who knows where that would have gone? _Takao thought while blushing madly. He heard Midorima following him from behind and placed a hand over his chest in an attempt to stop it from beating out of it's chest.

He approached the door and peered into the eyehole.

He saw his own mother and Takao flung open the door.

"_Okaa-san!_ What are you doing here?" He let her into the house.

His mother had short black hair, and was shorter than he was. She looked rather petite but if you looked closely, you could see a wrinkle here and there.

"Well, you know. Just checking up." She shrugged. "I can't leave my son alone, of course!" She saw Midorima.

"Nice to see you again, Midorima-kun."

"Long time no see. Do you want move to the living room?"

She held up a grocery bag. "No, it's fine! I just wanted to drop this off and make sure you guys are doing okay."

Takao took a hold of the bag and peered inside.

"Thanks! Sorry I had to ask you to get the beans." He withdrew a large bag of red beans and waved it in front of Midorima's face.

"Look Shin-chan, your favourite!" He laughed.

"Shut up." Midorima gave him a glare.

Takao's mother chuckled. "Well, you guys had dinner right?"

"Yeah." Takao nodded. "Say hi to _otou-san_ for me, okay?"

"Of course." She turned to leave. "You two take care of yourselves, okay? I'll check in once in a while."

"I'll take good care of Shin-chan, I promise." Takao grinned before he received jab in the side from Midorima.

Takao gave his mother a hug before she left, and when the door finally closed shut, Takao turned to Midorima.

"Do you want me to make this tomorrow?"

"Do it whenever you want." Midorima pushed up his glasses and left for his room.

Takao glared at his back.

_Stupid tsundere_.

* * *

After they had returned to their rooms, Takao pushed aside his pile of schoolwork to relieve him of the matter pressing onto his mind.

He wasn't sure if he had the courage to do it, but he went ahead with it anyways.

Takao opened his laptop and pulled up a browser window. He didn't usually play games on his laptop so it was pretty bare. The games he _did _play were in real life, on court.

_Am I really doing this? _Takao scratched his head and planted his forehead on the desk.

_Yes, I have to do this. _

He quickly typed "how to have gay sex" into the search bar and stifled a groan. What if these thoughts were one-sided? Takao shook his head and clicked the first link that came up.

[ _Get It On . com _]

Takao's jaw dropped as he entered a black-themed website and raised his eyebrows when he saw a R-18 SEXUAL CONTENT warning.

"Well… now we know that this is a legitimate guide… I guess." He muttered to himself.

[ _WARNING: This page is R18 and shows a video of real men having anal sex. Please leave if you are under 18 or likely to be offended. Some guys prefer one role or another – either you're the top, the guy doing the fucking, or the bottom, the guy getting fucked. Others like to do both. Whatever the situation, talk about it. Stay in control. Remember that you're not obliged to do anything you don't want to._ ] *

Takao sat there for a while, pondering his situation.

He was definitely interested in having sex with Midorima, now that he thought about it. It felt rather weird thinking about his friend in a sexual manner, but since that day in the bath, these thoughts wouldn't leave him.

But what if Midorima wasn't interested? What if he was just curious about kissing Takao?

He sighed as these negative thoughts plagued his mind.

Instead of stopping, he scrolled on, and clicked a link that said [ _First Timers _].

"Yes… great that I'm researching… blah blah, safe sex…" Takao mumbled as he read the first paragraph. He was 100% sure that neither him nor Midorima had diseases so he skipped the STI section.

[ _Top or Bottom? _]

…_What is this… _Takao pursed his lips and read on.

"If you're the one fucking… or getting fucked." Takao remembered that guys took it up their ass and blushed.

_How does that even feel good? _He wondered. _And plus… your shithole is dirty isn't it…_

[ _The main pleasure derives from your partner hitting your prostate._ ]

"Isn't your prostate an organ? I'm so confused right now…" Takao hit his forehead on the table and wanted to scream.

"Someone help me!" Takao groaned. "Who do I ask about this stuff?"

And at that moment, as if someone answered his prayers, his cellphone vibrated on the table and Takao snapped back up to take a look at it.

The notification screen flashed _Kasamatsu _and Takao grabbed his phone in glee.

He knew whom to ask.

* * *

**Important: **This fanfic is probably turning M soon, instead of T... so if I have any readers that aren't comfortable with that... yenno what to do


	12. 12

**Foreword: **You might be wondering why I'm taking the time to write about a first-timers experience with sex. First of all, let me just tell you that I strongly believe in safe sex. I also believe that a lot of fanfiction _doesn't _depict safe sex, which is totally okay... but I recently educated myself on the matter of gay sex, and I felt that I needed to write an ff that actually _did _talk about the dirty parts of sex that people usually omit for pleasure purposes.

I'm sorry if you find it boring, or annoying, but I'll try to make it as fun as possible. Because hey, haven't you ever wondered what happens when a guy cums in another guy's ass? Or what if you have shit in your asshole... and you're trying to fuc... OKAY IGNORE ME. ANYWAYS.

That's basically why I'm taking the time to do this! :'( Hope you learn some new things... I've spent a lot of time researching for this.

**Disclaimer: **i don own knb ok bye

* * *

Takao sat at his desk.

While staring at the name on the screen of his phone and an idea flashed through his mind like a lightning bolt would strike a tree. He grabbed the phone and began to type as fast as he could (which was fast, considering it wasn't a QWERTY keyboard). Takao and Kasamatsu had exchanged email-addresses after their run-in at the _okonomiyaki_ store.

Takao had chatted him up in order to get Midorima into the table. But he had soon discovered that Kasamatsu was an interesting individual, and it was fun to exchange ideas and thoughts with another intellectual. He also (of course) was an exceptional captain.

_Hey, it wasn't as if you couldn't make friends outside of your school. Right?_

But when he saw Kasamatsu's name on his phone, he immediately thought of Kise Ryouta. Takao tapped his chin as he re-pondered his idea.

His idea was to ask Kise Ryouta for advice on this _precarious _subject. He had reason to believe that Kise swung for both teams. He was also the ideal person, because he didn't seem to be judgmental, but Takao wondered about his ability to keep a secret.

So he quickly punched in a text to Kasamatsu (including a reply to his previous text) and hit send before he could take it back. Takao sat back in his chair and waited for a reply with a pounding heart. When his phone vibrated once more he pounced onto the electronic device and scanned the reply as fast as he could. (Why was he so nervous anyways?)

[ _Sure. 5:00p.m. the café? I asked Kise, he's cool with it. _] Takao silently made a victory fist and slyly laughed at Kasamatsu. He had no idea what was coming.

* * *

As Takao lay in bed that night, he stared up at the ceiling and wondered why he would not fall asleep. He also wondered why he was able to sleep with Midorima at his side. He guessed that it was partially because he had a horrible tendency to toss and turn in bed and keep his thoughts running at full speed. With Midorima there, he refrained himself from tossing and turning, and Midorima always redirected his brooding thoughts to a more peaceful outlet.

He wasn't sure what it was, but Midorima always seemed to do something to make Takao relax. At this thought, he grew red. That could be sexual in more ways than one.

He turned facedown on the bed to hide his face (even though no one could see it) and let out a small groan. Midorima definitely wouldn't be coming tonight, because of the "break" he had requested. Takao cursed his sudden inability to fall asleep and did his best to screw his eyes shut for good.

* * *

The following day, Takao and Midorima continued to act as thought nothing had happened. It was easier to pretend than to face the truth.

Takao spent the whole school day staring outside windows, sighing, and doodling on his schoolwork. Midorima didn't seem like he would take initiative for a while, and Takao felt unwilling to do anything. This time, he wanted Midorima to step up.

But first, there was an issue that he needed to resolve.

He praised his luck (maybe Oha-Asa predicted it would be a great ady for him) when Midorima had met him at the school entrance and sullenly told him that he'd be going to practice. Since Takao was still recovering, he couldn't do any physical activity yet. He silently waved him off but as soon as his back was turned, Takao broke into a run to make it to the café in time.

Takao swore that this would be the last physical activity he did until he recovered.

However, what he didn't was that as soon as _his _back had turned, Midorima had saw him dashing towards the main road as fast as he could, and Midorima's suspicions were perked.

* * *

By the time he had gotten to the store where he had asked Kasamatsu and Kise to meet up with, it was 5:12. He heaved a giant breath as he slowed down from his speed walk and prayed that his head was all right. He stepped through the doorway after the automatic door had slid open and ambled into the cheerful and quaint store.

The smell of coffee beans and baked goods greeted him and a waving in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Kise and Kasamatsu sat at a booth at the far end of the store. They were both in their school uniforms, like Takao was. Their school was closer to the café, so they naturally had arrived first.

"Hey Takao!" Kise greeted him brightly as he took a seat from across the two boys. "How's Midorima?"

"Same old, same old." Takao casually shrugged and Kise laughed. "Same old grumpy Midorima. Huh?"

"Er… Yeah." Takao laughed and turned to Kasamatsu. "hey! Long time no see, how's practice going for you guys?"

Kasamatsu gave him an evil eye.

"Like I'd tell you! But yea, good to see you again." He nodded.

"Ah… serious as always." Takao readjusted himself in his seat. "So, did you guys order anything?"

"Well, we got coffees for the three of us, that's it." Kise craned his neck to see where the staff were.

"We can always order more if you're hungry."

Takao waved his hand and cleared his throat. "No, I'm good."

Kise propped his chin on his hand and looked at Takao with a serious expression. Takao felt like squirming under Kise's searching look. He wasn't going to start the conversation just yet…

"Tell me what you called us out for." Kise quipped.

_Shit._

* * *

Midorima stood in front of the store that Takao had bolted into and wondered if he was doing the right thing, following the boy all the way here. It was an obvious invasion of his privacy but Midorima worried a bit when he saw him doing vigourous exercise. Midorima had texted Ootsubo, telling him that an emergency had come up, and here he was, cursing Takao and pacing in front of the café.

He crossed the street in order to get a better look through the windows and he hid himself behind a sign. Midorima felt like a stalker and it was downright appalling.

He saw Takao take a seat at a booth and jolted when he saw two familiar figures. It was Kise and Kasamatsu.

"What the hell?" Midorima swore.

What was Takao doing with those guys?

* * *

Takao swirled his finger on the tabletop for a few seconds before looking up, and taking a deep breath.

"Are you two-" He was soon cut off when a waitress arrived with their coffees and Kasamatsu thanked her politely. Takao quickly grabbed a mug and grabbed a couple of creamers and distracted himself by preparing his coffee. He laughed as he watched Kasamatsu pour five packets of sugar into his coffee.

"What?" Kasamatsu gave Takao a dirty look.

"Kasamatsu has a surprising sweet tooth." Kise shrugged and took a sip of his black coffee. "So continue, what were you saying?"

"Er…" Takao looked at the ceiling for a good ten seconds. "Tell me, are you two in a relationship?"

Takao looked down as he heard Kasamatsu beginning to choke.

"W-w-w-w, wha-, wha-" He stuttered in disbelief and Takao immediately knew that he had gotten it wrong. Kasamatsu wasn't blushing in embarrassment… he was just plain embarrassed.

"You've got it wrong!" Kise laughed and wa ved his hand. "Silly. As if Kasamatsu would ever-"

"No way in hell." Kasamatsu planted his face into his palm.

"Hahaha! Oh god. I'm sorry. Kise, you _are _gay though, right?"

"Well, I'm bisexual, if you really want to put a label on sexuality…" Kise shrugged. "I just go with the flow, really."

Takao cleared his throat. "So, um… are you seeing anyone?"

"Uhm… Haha… About that…" Kise scratched his head and Takao thought that he saw him blush a little. "Er. Yes. I am."

Kasamatsu, Takao, and Kise spent a good minute just trying to sort out their embarrassed feelings while hiding behind a mug of coffee.

After Takao had set his cup down, he straightened his back and looked at Kise.

"So… do you guys… um…" Takao felt like he was going to die if he was going ot as another embarrassing question.

"Do it? Ohhhhh! That's what you wanted to talk about. Here, I'll tell you-" Kise brightened and began to babble.

"That's it. I'm out of here man." Kasamatsu stood up with red cheeks and held up his hand. " You guys go on with whatever you're doing and I'll get this coffee to-go." He shuffled out of the booth as fast as he could and in an instant, he was gone.

"Oops." Takao sighed.

"Don't worry! He's not mad or anything. Just feeling uncomfortable." Kise reassured him. "So have you and Midorima finally…"

"_Finally? _Finally what? What are you talking about." Takao sputtered and felt his face growing hot.

"Don't be embarrassed. You two are perfectly compatible, and I already betted on it happening anyways." Kise waved a finger at him.

"_What happening? _Nothing happened!" Takao lied indignantly.

"Well, you're blushing, so you've obviously developed some sort of _romantic _feelings towards him…" He trailed off. "Well, Midorima is an amazing individual so I applaud your bravery…"

"At least you don't hate him, like the rest of him…" Takao grumbled.

"Aha! So you admit it?" Kise grinned.

"Admit _what?_" Takao nearly shouted.

The blonde huffed a sigh. "Come on. I'll just spell it out for you. You and Midorima. A thing, together."

"We're… we're not _together_…" Takao trailed off. "But we _are _living together." He said quietly.

"Oh! So that's how it happened." Kise gave a wolfish grin and cocked his head to a side.

"You want to ask me about the dirty part of a relationship, didn't you?" Kise grinned broadly and put his hands behind his head.

"…Oh god." Was all Takao could manage as he hung his head.

"You're easily embarrassed for someone so easygoing!" Kise laughed and took a gulp of his coffee. "Tell you what. You're only going to get more embarrassed, talking to me. I know the perfect person for you to talk to. Comfortably. "

"Really." Takao said skeptically. "Where am I going to find someone to educate me on gay sex?"

"Well, you'll find out." Kise rummaged through his bag and took out a slip of paper and a pen. He placed it onto the table and began to scribble on it. When he was finished, he thrust it into Takao's face.

_Kuno Health Store xxx-xxx-xxx Shiori Kuno _

"This is the go-to place." Kise nodded and took a last gulp of his coffee. "Ask for Shiori, and you'll be in good hands. I'll tell her you'll be going."

"Kano… Health store? W0what…" Takao held the paper, rather stupefied.

"Just go, and you'll find out, okay?" Kise shook his head. Well, I gotta go. Kasamatsu probably is waiting for me outside. I'll pay for your coffee, alright?"

"Thanks a lot… for everything…" Takao breathed.

"You won't be thanking me after you meet Shiori. Then you'll be thanking her. Well, see you then!" Kise got up to leave.

After a good thirty minutes of sipping his coffee and staring at the slip of paper after the two had left, Takao stood up from his seat and decided to suck it up, and go see what this health store was all about.

* * *

Midorima stretched his legs out on the pavement as he waited on the steps of a closed store. He had seen Kasamatsu exit the store, and Kise following suit. He began to wonder where Takao was, and almost got fed up with waiting. Midorima checked his phone and scrolled through a few horoscopes. He almost stood up to leave, but just at that moment, the automatic door slid open, and Takao stepped out of the store with his hand sin his pockets.

He turned right on the street and Midorima stood up abruptly. After following Takao from afar for a few blocks, he wondered why his back looked so dejected.

Takao's back was slightly hunched, and his shoulders were slumped. He looked lost, and he looked like he needed answers, and Midorima guessed that he was trying to find them.

A droplet of rain fell onto Midorima's head and he cursed. A sudden downpour of rain began to fall in sleets and Midorima expected Takao to turn back. But he continued to walk down the street, with his uniform drenched, and Midorima felt as if he had been dunked with ice-cold water. He silently wished that he could turn back home.

But Midorima needed answers as well, so he was going to tag along to get them as well.

* * *

reviews **ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED 33333**


	13. 13

**a/n: **Hello guys. quick update eh? well, I'm on a holiday today so I have no school. I got my top two wisdom teeth out this morning and all four are officially gone! (phew) so now I'm sitting here with some peanut soup (the store didn't have red bean... but I'll make some tomorrow) working on this fic!

hope you enjoy.

**disclaimer: **i dont own kurobas kk

* * *

Takao continued to walk in the freezing cold rain whilst cursing his bad luck (Midorima had begun to rub off him) and desperately wished that he were at home. There was nothing worse than trudging in the cold rain, but it was ten times worth with out an umbrella. Takao adjusted his bag and felt extremely thankful that it was waterproof.

He clenched his jaw to keep himself from shivering, and he took shelter under a roofed area for two minutes while he took out his phone to check directions. The store was another block ahead, and Takao wondered why he was going through such lengths to get to the place.

The sky seemed to press on him with its melancholic grey clouds, and the rain only added to the sort of desperate atmosphere the weather created. He used his sleeve to wipe the wet screen of his phone and put it back into his pocket with difficulty. Takao felt as if his fingers were frozen, and when he looked at them, he found that they were tinged red from the cold.

"Dammit…" He laughed at his idiocy and his stubborn personality. "Let's get on with it."

Takao quickened his pace to an almost run and gritted his teeth as his feet began to freeze too, when his socks got soaked. He slowed to a stop when he approached a sign that read _Kuno Health Store _and quickly darted into the store without a second thought.

He shook his head to get rid of the water, and breathed a sigh of relief as a gush of warm air hit him.

Bright warm fluorescent lights illuminated the spacious white store and rows of medical supplies stood in the midst of it all.

"Welcome!" A female voice chirped from the cashier's desk. There was a girl with jet-black hair sitting behind the counter. She had carefully applied make-up on and her hair was tied up and curled. Takao guessed that she was the owner's daughter, or something.

"Hi." Takao said as he approached the counter.

"Are you Takao?" She stood up and Takao reeled at her height. She had to be shorter than Midorima, but she was taller than Takao.

_Wow, she's tall. _He laughed internally. _That was unexpected_.

"Nice to meet you." She said assertively. "I'm Shiori Kuno. Kise texted me to tell me that you'd be coming." Takao raised his eyebrows at her confident tone of voice.

"So, I believe you need some guidance… right?" She smiled and Takao stared.

"Yea, I do." He said in a matter-of-fact tone and crossed his arms. "What can you do for me?"

Takao was extremely skeptical.

"Well, let me first tell you that I'm Kise's classmate." She dropped the smile and crossed her arms to match Takao's posture. "And I'll tell you that I'm very serious about what I do."

"What _do _you do?"

"Well, my father is a doctor, and he opened this health store and sees clients next door in a clinic. So I help run this place… and at the same time I help young first-timers with their sexual exploitations. Adventures. Whatever you want to call it."

Takao marveled at her ability to talk about something so appalling so casually.

"Well uh… you're quite brave then. " He said.

"It has nothing to do with bravery! I feel better knowing that many are safe from disease, etcetera, because of the services I provide. You should tell everyone you know about me." Shiori's eyes suddenly sparkled and she had an excited grin on her face.

"You're from Shuutoku, right? I don't think they know about me yet…" She muttered to herself.

"You can do your advertising yourself." Takao muttered.

"Yes, yes." She waved a hand in his face. "Of course. But what I do is provide people with everything they need for healthy, safe and hot sex." She planted her hands on her hips and Takao burst into laughter.

"You sound like a porn telemarketer!" He clutched his stomach.

"Oh, shush." She shrugged as if she had been through this routine many times. "Let me show you."

Shiori turned around and produced a key. She used it to open a large black cabinet and withdrew a brown, unmarked package. She then took out two other similar ones and slapped them onto the counter. Takao looked at them curiously.

"What are these?"

"Everything young couples need. This package is for boy-girl couples…" She pointed to a small symbol drawn on the package. "This one is for boy-boy couples, and this is one is for girl-girl couples." Shiori said proudly.

"Wow… this is… thorough." Takao held one up to look at it.

"Well, sexuality has no limits, so I provide everything I can. It's not like a girl-girl couple needs condoms, right?" She said.

"Huh. You're right about that." Takao said.

She grabbed the package from Takao's hands and set it back onto the counter.

"I know it's weird for people to just walk into a health store to buy condom and lubricants by themselves. I've seen it too many times to count, and it's partially why I started doing this." Shiori said. "I also give orientations."

Takao stared at her again. "Orientations?" He echoed.

"Of course!" She continued on. "Need-to-knows for first timers mostly."

Takao had his force his jaw to stay closed at this point.

"Wow."

"I know! I'm proud of this!" She smiled.

"Clearly."

"So, what will it be?" She waved a hand towards the three packages. "I also have one for self-pleasure as well."

Takao doubled over in laughter at this sentence.

"What's so funny?" She shook her head. "It's actually very popular amongst my customers!"

"S-self… pleasure…" He wiped the corner of his eye. "I know this is serious but I didn't expect someone to be… so prepared." He finished.

Shiori sighed. "You know, that's why so many people come here. I do this very professionally, and if you aren't serious about this, I'll have to send you on your way to another drugstore."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Truly." Takao said seriously. "But… I'm looking for the… package for two males." He laughed uneasily.

"I can tell, you know. Sometimes I can guess and I was right on the dot this time!" She grabbed a piece of paper from under the counter and a small name card as well.

"These are the items included in the package, and I can create customized ones as well." She chirped cheerfully. Takao leaned in to look at this list. It was quite long.

He reached out to take the package, but Shiori slapped his hand away.

"Just a second. What are you doing?"

"Taking my purchase?" Takao gave her a look.

"I'm not letting you buy _anything _until you come here with your partner. He's here, right?"

Takao jerked back and froze. The thought of communicating this sort of idea to Midorima frightened him to the bones. He wasn't even sure if Midorima _wanted _to do this sort of thing.

_What am I doing here? _He shook his head.

"So, he's not here?" Shiori asked gently. "Sex requires clear communication from both parties, Takao."

"Yea, I understand that…" He scratched his head.

"Okay, here's my card. It has my email address, telephone number, everything on it. If you need to ask me anything, I'm here for you, okay?" Shiori grabbed his hand and placed the card in it. She patted him twice on his arm.

"Don't look so down! It's so obvious what you're thinking." She said.

"It's obvious?" He echoed once more before laughing. "No way."

"Yea! Of course! You haven't clearly conveyed your desires to him, haven't you? And you don't know whether he wants the same thing…" She trailed off. "I can see it."

"Ugh…" He frowned. "It's that clear, huh."

"Well, go on home and come back when you've talked it out with him. I expect to see you guys here together, okay?" She smiled once more and Takao felt slightly encouraged.

"Here's an umbrella. You look utterly drenched." She grabbed a clear plastic umbrella from a bin and handed it to him. "Remember, confidence is key. Text me if you need help!"

Takao turned around and gave her a small wave before leaving the store.

* * *

He opened the umbrella and heaved a large sigh that seemed to expel all the discouragement from his lungs and mind.

"I'm ready." He said to the rain.

"Ready for what?"

Takao jumped and turned towards the voice. There, to his right, stood Midorima in his school uniform, soaked to his toes. His expression was darker than black and Takao froze in his tracks.

"What the hell are you doing here?"


	14. 14

**A/N: **A million thank yous to everyone who reviewed. They certainly encouraged me to continue in the direction of which I'll be heading. :') I'm excited! This is a shorter chapter but I hope that you guys will like it anyways. Its more concentrated, I believe.

**ANNOUNCEMENT: **Also, if you review for the next three/four chapters, you'll be entered into my "virtual draw" to get a sneak peek at a future chapter... which is um... lemonycoughcough M-rated. You get one submission into my hat for each chapter that review (not per review!) I'll send the chap over by PM or email. so its okay if you're anon! (preferably acc tho)

I'm doing this so I can get more feedback, and so that I can motivate more people to review. This is mutually beneficial and you just might get to see some action... hehehehehe

There will be 2 winners, but I might change that later. AnywayyyyS ENJOY!

**Disclaimer: **I DON'T OWN KNB OK

* * *

Midorima had waited outside the store for the entire duration in which Takao was talking to the girl at the counter. They seemed to be observing several packages and the girl eventually handed him a piece of paper that Midorima guessed to be her contact information.

He frowned slightly and felt a stab. Was that _jealousy_?

He turned around and shuffled out of view from the window to take time to gather his thoughts. Midorima stared out at the pavement and watched the rain pitter and patter onto the dark black concrete. He held his arms at his sides, knowing that if he moved his arms, they would just be rubbing against the freezing and soaked insides of his uniform.

He stood there, as still as a statue while inside, his thoughts were running at a mile a second.

Midorima knew that his relationship Takao hadn't reached a solid level yet, and they were in the midst of a transition. However, the outcome of the transition was still unknown, and that was what worried Midorima the most. He tilted his head back and huffed out a few breaths of air.

He thought back to the feelings of lust that he had felt when he saw Takao's naked body.

He also thought back to the times they kissed, and the immense joy that he received from it.

Midorima definitely _cared _for Takao, and he admitted that he held sexual attraction for him. But he was afraid that it was just temporary lust, and after the high faded, there would be nothing left but bitter ashes for them to roll in.

Takao was a huge idiot sometimes, but Midorima admitted he had… his uses.

And he certainly didn't want to lose those _uses_. Thus, entering some sort of intimate relationship with Takao worried him greatly, and he just couldn't come up with a conclusion to this issue. It was like a math problem he couldn't solve. He was too lazy to think of other methods, so he just gave up.

Just as he was about to run through another number of solutions, the whirring of an automatic door jerked his attention to his left. Midorima stared as Takao exited the store with a clear plastic umbrella and snapped it open. He heard the boy give a large sigh and Midorima continued to bore his eyes into Takao, wondering when he would notice his presence.

"I'm ready." Takao said softly with a sort of hard determination in his voice, and in that split second, Midorima's heart leapt.

He wanted that determination to be directed towards _himself_, he discovered. He wanted Takao's stubbornness to work towards himself. He wanted his cute ass for himself.

Midorima wanted Takao's anger, so that he could soothe it and heal it. He wanted his insomnia to himself, so that he could spend every night with him, coaxing him and lulling him to sleep. He wanted to wake up every morning to Takao's silly grin. He even wanted that pesky eagle eye to himself.

Speaking of his eagle eye, he was surprised that Takao hadn't realized he was standing a metre away. He decided to give him an indication instead.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

He pasted on a look of displeasure (which was easy for him, and familiar) to hide the turmoil and realization going on within.

"Hell!" Takao shouted and gave a jolt. "Where did you come from!" His eyes were widened in shock and Midorima took a step closer.

"I followed you because you're an idiot for coming out in this kind of weather, with an _injury _to boot, and you didn't even bring an umbrella!" Midorima growled. "Imagine what that's doing to your head!"

"My head is perfectly fine, mind you! You have no right to follow me!" Takao hissed indignantly.

"I have every right."

"Oh really, and why is that?" Takao set his jaw and Midorima couldn't stand it anymore.

He grabbed the sides of Takao's head and gently swept aside his black bangs with his right hand. With his heart pounding, and his body shaking, Midorima gently pressed his lips against Takao's forehead. He felt the freezing cold of Takao's face on his lips and startled at its temperature.

"You're cold."

Takao stared up at him, his surprise accentuated by his now visible eyebrows and Midorima maintained a neutral expression. Takao's face suddenly grew red and he dropped his eyes to the floor. Midorima couldn't help but think that Takao looked absolutely adorable at that moment.

He continued to plant kisses over Takao's face until he finally reached his lips, and Takao hesitantly locked his arms around Midorima's waist. They didn't open their mouths, but Midorima enjoyed it nonetheless. He wondered if he was addicted to the feel of Takao's lips.

They stayed in their warm embrace for a good few minutes before Takao broke off, shaking.

"That's the third time." Takao looked at him with trembling lips and starry eyes.

"I know." He stroked Takao's cheek with his thumb. "Let's go home."

* * *

Takao didn't know what overcame him, but a sudden embarrassment washed over him as soon as they got home. The walk home was tense and unbearable under Shiori's umbrella. The only sounds during the whole duration were the sounds of their feet sloshing in the rain. Takao wasn't brave enough to say a word, and it seemed that Midorima wasn't either.

He quickly kicked off his shoes and took off his soaking socks before running up the stairs.

"I'm getting changed!" He called unnecessarily to Midorima before closing his door and locking it.

Within the own privacy of his room, he slid to the floor and touched his lips. Takao touched his face and tried to trace the places where Midorima had kissed him. It was the most intimate gesture that Midorima had ever shown him, and Takao felt himself falling.

He rubbed his cheek where Midorima had swept his thumb across it, and closed his eyes, trying to bring back the sensations.

With a heavily pounding heart and a soaked uniform, Takao lay still on the floor of his bedroom and stared up at the white ceiling. If he tried hard enough, he could wipe out all the background objects and focus on the ceiling.

He imagined himself falling into a white abyss, and he pictured himself trying to grab a rope that was extended just beyond his reach. He raised a hand, testing out the air, and wildly grabbed for the rope.

But it was already too late. The rope was gone and he felt himself falling further.

He was falling hard.


	15. 15

**A/N: **Hello, hello! Hope you all had a great week. Here's something for you to read over the weekend!

Also, I'd like to take the time to thank my great reviewers. You guys have given me such thoughtful reviews over the past week and when I read them I literally rolled on the bed with happiness! You give me confidence to keep writing... when it's kind of hard to keep writing this fic when I see other fics doing better than it. /shot I have this serious confidence issue with my writing... Um.

So, reviews are appreciated like food on a starving day. :'( And I'm bumping up the rating to M this time! Enjoy.

**P.S.: **my little review draw thing is still going on!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kurobasu

* * *

Takao woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and a stiff body. After he had showered last night, he hadn't fallen asleep until a good few hours after midnight. He groaned and clutched his head, trying to will the sunshine away.

He rolled onto his backside and wondered what day of the week it was. He felt so tired and lazy, but for some reason, his brain had commanded him to wake up. Takao glanced at the bedside clock.

_9:21 _

Thankfully, it was a Saturday morning, and Takao reflected upon his first week at Midorima's place. Who knew, that once the parents were gone, the children would become so wild. Takao shook his head. There was something that he needed to do today, and pressing matters were pressing. Takao kicked of the covers and shivered when his feet hit the cold hardwood floor. The weather was getting chillier by the day.

He stepped into the bathroom and shivered at the temperature of the tiled room. He brushed his teeth and washed his face with lukewarm water to warm himself up, and quickly ran out of the bathroom to avoid further freezing. He then entered Midorima's room and eyed the figure on the bed.

The green-haired boy was sleeping on his side, facing the opposite way as the door. Takao crept in, unsure whether he was awake or not. His heart pounded slightly, and when he recalled yesterday's events, his heart pounded even faster.

"Wake up!" He half-shouted and Midorima stirred.

He stood at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed, waiting for Midorima to wake. His heartbeat was racing and he could feel it in his toes. He was nervous.

Midorima muttered something impolite under his breath and glared at Takao from under his sheets. He lay in bed, not getting up.

"What do you want?" His voice was laced with the hoarseness of sleep. Takao twitched as he tried not to find it sexy. The low grumble of his voice had turned into a sort of deep purr to Takao.

"Uh…" He muttered at first, but then cleared his throat. Takao widened his stance and hardened his voice as if it were made of steel.

"Listen up, Shin-chan. Sit up, if you could."

"Why the hell are you in my room at this hour, and why should I do that?" Midorima huffed.

"Shin-chan, do as I say, because I'm going to ask you something serious." Takao mustered in his best business-like tone possible. It was no longer the tone of voice that he usually used with a tinge of boredom. He was serious.

Midorima gave him a baleful glare again, but slowly propped himself up, and sat upright in his bed. His hair was standing up and several stands were flying wildly. Takao resisted the urge to ruffle his hair and tell him how cute he looked. That would definitely earn him a punch or two.

"…" Takao took a step closer to the bed. He was touching the end of the bed now, and Midorima was still looking at him with his usual rotten expression. The silence was so loud that there was a ringing in Takao's ears. Judging from the way Midorima uncomfortably crossed his legs and ruffled his bed sheets, he could tell that he heard the ringing too.

Takao finally spoke up. "I'm going to ask you a very serious question. And I am completely serious about this question." He paused.

"But if your answer to this question would happen to be _no_, then I beg you to pretend that nothing had ever transpired in this room. Nothing" Takao said as he looked Midorima straight in the eye.

"Promise me that this will not effect our relationship. Or at least, pretend that it won't." Takao pleaded to Midorima.

Midorima was very still. He gave a curt nod, and somehow Takao felt that he knew Midorima had already guessed the question.

With his heart threatening to give him a heart attack, Takao staggered back a bit and opened his mouth to say something. He tried to say it, but no words were coming out. Midorima waited patiently, and Takao felt as if he wanted to die. He wondered if his cheeks were burning red right now, because they sure felt like it.

The damage of the question had already been dealt out. It didn't even matter if Takao said it or not, but he still did it.

"Do you want to have sex with me?" Takao burst out.

He wanted to plug his ears and scream and run out of the room, hollering. He shut his eyes, but when he heard no reply from Midorima, he took a peek at him. He was sitting on the bed with his arms crossed; his expression hadn't changed.

"Come over here." Came his reply.

"What?" Takao said. "You didn't even answer my question!" He waved his arm wildly.

"I'll give you your answer if you come over here." Midorima said.

To say that Takao was having a heart attack was an understatement. He felt like his legs were going to turn into jelly, but he needed to run away. Takao wanted to run away fast, from whatever Midorima was going to do to him.

But he went forward anyways, and approached the left side of the bed.

"Okay, now sit down."

Takao sat with his back to Midorima, trying his best to calm down.

_Nothing's going to happen. He's just going to say no. He's going to say no. Can you imagine a guy like Midorima being gay? _

The mattress creaked under his weight and Takao cringed at the noise. Suddenly, he felt Midorima's strong arms reaching under his thighs, and the small of his back. Next thing he knew he was sitting in Midorima's lap, and Takao nearly screeched.

"What are you doing!?" Takao hollered. Midorima grabbed his legs and placed them around his waist. The two boys blushed at the inappropriate position they were in.

"You wanted an answer, right?" Midorima said sullenly with a sort of tortured expression on his face.

"How is this an answer?" Takao slapped a hand over his mouth to hide his face.

To Takao's blatant surprise, Midorima slowly ran his hands over the undersides of Takao's thighs and they came to a rest on Takao's ass. He gave it a shy squeeze and Takao buried his head in Midorima's shoulder. He could smell his body wash and clothes. He could also feel something hard pressing onto his bottom.

"There's your answer." Midorima managed to say in a strangled voice.

"You need to say it. Clear communication, Shin-chan." Takao managed to tease him despite his erratic heartbeat and shaking.

"Ha…" Midorima grumbled. "Go to hell."

"You're so mean." Takao huffed. He could feel his own length stiffening with desire and tried not to grind himself onto Midorima's length.

He had to be extremely careful in what he was doing with Midorima. He was a volatile person sometimes, and Takao never knew when to stop, or keep going. Takao never had the guts to tease Midorima beyond his breaking point, because he had no idea what the outcome would be.

"Mmm…" He groaned into Midorima's shoulder. "Say it."

Takao lost control and rubbed himself onto Midorima. He knew the friction would drive the boy crazy.

As expected, Midorima jerked and let out a low grunt.

"Shut up."

Takao continued grinding into his lap and Midorima's hands tightened on his butt.

"Don't make me do this." Takao whispered. He felt the hard length growing even more insistent and Takao grinned devilishly. His confidence started to bubble up.

"Shit." Midorima threw his head back and his hands went to Takao's hips.

"Mm… Shin-chan." Takao slid backwards off of Midorima's erection.

Midorima glared at him furiously.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not doing anything until you say it." Takao crossed his arms.

They sat there for at least half a minute, both being stubborn, until Midorima just couldn't ignore his arousal anymore.

"Yes, let's do it." He quickly said. "I want to have sex with you."

The words coming out of Midorima's mouth felt so out of place, but Takao felt fleeful as soon as he heard them.

"Finally." He groaned and quickly grabbed the waistband of Midorima's pants and pulled them down abashedly.

Midorima was very still as Takao slid his hand down his underpants and freed his stiff erection. Takao proceeded to pull his own out of his pants, and paused for a second.

"Do you know what I first thought when I saw you in the bath that day? When you stood up?" Takao said.

"No. Hurry up." Midorima growled.

"Nu-uh. Wait a second." Takao grinned, and earned himself a death glare from Midorima.

"I thought… Wow. Shin-chan is so big."

Midorima blushed and tried to look away.

"Eyes on me, Shin-chan." Takao said bravely, even though he was feeling the furthest thing from brave.

Takao took his hand and pressed their dicks together. The two boys jerked from the contact but seemed to sigh in relief at the same time.

Takao cursed, wishing he had hands as big as Midorima, as he pumped their cocks together rhythmically. He closed his eyes, trying to memorize the shape and feel of Shin-chan.

"Shit…" Takao swore again and put his forehead onto Midorima's shoulder again. He could hear Midorima's heavy breaths matching his own. He felt Midorima's hands slipping under his t-shirt. They merely rested on his bare back, but somehow it aroused Takao immensely.

As he was nearing his climax, Takao suddenly remembered Shiori. He remembered about how they needed to go see her, and wanted to slap himself for jumping into this too quickly.

He came in gasps and spurts into his own hand and he felt Midorima grabbing their cocks, dirtying his own hand with semen, but kept pumping insistently.

Takao couldn't stop thinking about how dirty this was.

Midorima grew tense underneath him, and when they had both finally climaxed, Takao groaned loudly and slid off Midorima's lap, withdrawing Midorima's hands off his back.

He looked at Midorima, and the boy had a dazed expression on his face, and red cheeks.

Takao placed his clean hand on Midorima's chest, and felt for his heartbeat. Predictably, it was beating as fast as his own.

"Do you feel that?" Midorima whispered.

"What?" Takao stared at him. "I don't feel anything." He lied.

Takao felt like a drummer was beating to a song inside of his chest, but at the same time he felt a strange wrenching and squeezing of his heart. It the strangest sensation, and it was as if suddenly his emotions were stored in his heart and they were threatening to burst out of the fist-sized muscle. He didn't know if he had ever felt this before, but in that moment, he felt intense euphoria.

"What is this?" Midorima asked.

Takao looked away.

"I haven't the faintest."

* * *

Okay. Excuse me while I hide in a hole to try and rebuild my confidence.

on a side note, I might write an aoki fic keke. opinions?


	16. 16

**A/N: **Hey guys, long time no see. I apologize for the huge gap between this chapter and the last chapter, but I've been busy as heck with tests, etc. Also, I warn you that this is sort of an awkward transition chapter... I think I've been having a bit of a writer's block. This was the best I could do.

Oh, and I promise next chapter will be better. (wink)

On the other hand, I finally did my draw, and **LoveGonzo2 **won it! (pls give a round of applause lol jk)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own knb

* * *

"It's raining again."

Takao and Midorima were standing outside of the house, staring gloomily at the weather that had continued from Friday. The rain was had continued to pour through the night, and Takao wished he hadn't exited the warm toasty house.

"I've got an umbrella, but you need to bring an extra one. I'm returning this to the person I borrowed it from." Takao said.

Midorima nodded and went back into the house to get yet another clear plastic umbrella. He nodded to Takao and they locked up the front door and set off in the direction of the health store.

"…Tell me again. Why do we need to go to this place?" Midorima grumbled.

"To have the best sex as possible, of course!" Takao said non-chalantly. They were now sharing Midorima's umbrella, and Takao was swinging around Shiori's.

"…Idiot." Midorima cleared his throat.

"I'm just kidding. We're going to educate ourselves for our own good. How's that?"

"Better."

They continued to walk quietly for a long time, and Takao snuck a peek up at Midorima. He was staring at the road, and seemed to be concentrating on something.

"What are you thinking about?" Takao poked Midorima's face gently. Midorima responded by turning his head in the other direction irritably.

"Nothing," came his predictable reply. His tone was laced with frustration.

Takao grabbed Midorima's arm. They had reached the front of the health store.

"Come on. Tell me. We can't go in there fighting, right?" Takao said fiercely.

Midorima stared blankly up at the sign of the store, offering no reply.

"Shin-chan!" Takao said again.

"Shut up. I'm thinking." Midorima glared. "I really don't want to have this conversation right now."

"I'm sure we can figure it out. Spit it out." Takao crossed his arms.

Midorima dropped the umbrella and grabbed Takao by his shoulders. The rain beat at them with its unrelenting droplets. Takao could feel his scalp growing cold.

"Why do you want to do this?" He asked with a pained expression.

"Why do I want to do… what?" Takao shook his head.

"This!" Midorima gestured at the store behind them.

A roll of thunder burst out from a distance and Takao looked up at Midorima with a serious expression.

"I'm still not getting it, Shin-chan." His breath came out as a light puff of condensation.

"Shi-" Midorima broke off and turned his head to the side. "Don't you find me gross?"

"Why on earth would I find you gross?" Takao shook his head. Midorima was being an absolute idiot.

"…because I find another male sexually attractive." Midorima finished.

"What the hell is your problem?" Takao burst out. "What about me then?"

Midorima blinked.

"I find you sexually attractive too, why else would I want to screw with you?" Takao slapped a palm onto his face, but he soon felt Midorima taking his wrist and removing it.

"Do you really?" Midorima echoed with a red face. Takao was sure that his own expression mirrored Midorima's.

"Yes?" Takao stuttered.

* * *

Midorima knew that they should have moved to the store, instead of standing there in the rain, but as he stared at Takao's face, illuminated by the white fluorescent lights of the store sign, he realized he could see everything.

He could see the droplets of rain on Takao's eyelashes, and he could see the paleness of Takao's skin accentuated by the cold, and then his cheeks that were flushed. Midorima leaned in and grabbed the back of Takao's head.

He was okay with doing this now; he felt reassured that the feeling was mutual. Midorima suddenly realized that what he was feeling was insecurity.

He laughed at himself. Whoever thought that Midorima would feel insecure?

He closed the distance between the faces and their lips met in a hot embrace. The rain was soon forgotten and their hot tongues were intertwining. Takao began to return his kiss, and their mouths slid over each other's easily with the rain wetting everything in its path.

Midorima opened his eyes and he saw that Takao still had his closed. But there soon was a loud interruption.

"Hey! You two! Break it up!"

The two boys jumped in surprise and disentangled themselves at the speed of light and looked to see who had spoken. Shiori stood at the entrance of the store with her hands on her hips.

"While I'm okay with PDA, I'm not sure if other's would be. So get in here, because it's raining." She said sternly.

The two boys turned scarlet and solemnly picked up their belongings and entered the store after her. Midorima didn't dare look at Takao but he was sure Takao was trying to catch his eye.

"That was hot though." Shiori said, once she got behind the counter. "You two have got some real sexual tension over there."

"Haha. Really." Takao muttered and laughed incoherently. Midorima tried to will himself to stop blushing in embarrassment. His heart was beating out of control, as well.

"Okay, but it's nice to meet you Midorima-kun!" She said and Midorima adjusted his glasses awkwardly. He wasn't comfortable with the pretenses under which they were meeting.

"I'm Kuno Shiori."

"_Yoroshiku onegaishimasu_ Kuno-san." Midorima belted out forcefully.

She laughed loudly at this.

"You're so polite! Why don't you guys come into the back room, so we can talk properly."

"Sure." Takao piped up.

She turned around and led them to a back door. She waved them into a toasty back room but stepped out before she closed the door.

"Kei!" She called out into the store in a strong voice.

"What?" A male voice came from somewhere in the store.

"Come back to the front! I'm going to the back for a bit!"

There were the sounds of rapid footsteps, and a tall lanky boy with brown hair appeared in the doorway. His short hair was sticking up in a million different directions. His bored expression swept over Takao and Midorima without the faintest flicker of surprise.

"Oh. This again?" He said.

"Yes, this again." She flicked his head. "Okay now, bye!" Shiori waved mockingly at him and swiftly closed and locked the door.

"Phew." She scratched her head and Midorima noticed the faintest trace of a blush on her face. He nudged Takao and the boy stared up at him with a knowing look.

"Sit down, you two." She waved them to one of the couches. The room was set up like a small kitchen, and everything seemed to be decorated with lace or white cloth.

Takao sat down first, and grabbed Midorima's arm to pull him down. They sat without touching, and Shiori took a seat in the couch opposite of theirs.

"First off, I'll give you a couple of rules that I've learned to give over the past few years." She slipped off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the sofa.

Takao gave Midorima a curious look but he averted his gaze.

"But first off, have you guys communicated clearly about your wants, needs, and things you're uncomfortable with?" She said.

"Uh…." Takao said.

"No?" She looked at them. "First thing I want you guys to do right now, is to hold hands."

Midorima adopted a dirty look on his face and Takao laughed.

"Come on Shin-chan, give me your hand." Takao grinned and grabbed Midorima's wrist. He tried to jerk it away but ended up giving in. Takao looked at Midorima as he intertwined their fingers and squeezed lightly. He rested their hands in between them, on the sofa.

"Okay, good. Now I know that you both at least want to do this. Remember, communication is key. That is one of my biggest rules. Unless both parties are willing, you _do not _have sex." She slapped her palm and continued.

"Don't force yourself on others, and don't force yourself into others." She looked at them both.

"Second, knowing about diseases is important as heck. While I'm sure you two are both virgins," Shiori said.

Midorima coughed.

"This is also good for future reference….."

* * *

After a good hour or so, Takao and Midorima finally took their leave from the store. Shiori stood at the doorstep as they left and Takao gave her a wave from a distance.

"That was a lot… of information." Takao said awkwardly.

"I'm unsure whether I'm scarred or not." Midorima said.

Takao rustled the paper bag in his hands.

"Well we got this for free, too!" He said gleefully. "You know, I'm infinitely glad that I don't have to go buy condoms in public.

Midorima eyed the bag suspiciously.

"What else is in there?"

"Well we'll find out at home." Takao wiggled his eyebrows and earned a smack on the head.

"…Don't you have to… clean first?" Midorima coughed.

"We can always do it dirty, Shin-chan! I'm sure you don't mind, right?" Takao joked.

"No way!" Midorima half-shouted. Takao burst into laughter and Midorima looked away in embarrassment.

It wasn't until they got to a main road when Midorima felt Takao withdraw his hand from his own, that Midorima realized they had been holding hands for the whole duration.

He looked at Takao hold up the brown paper bag. He seemed to be trying to decipher the contents to no avail. But Midorima wanted to tell him that he had to be patient. That bag was like the future, he reflected. There were certainly good things to come in the future, and one always had to be patient to see the results. But Midorima silently mulled over the fact that once the bag was empty, they would have to go buy a new one again.

What a pain in the ass.

* * *

orz. uhuhuhhhh see you next time!


	17. 17

**a/n: **...holy hell. hello there. i have emerged from the mess that is called life obligations alive. These past two weeks have been absolutely insane for me... work, work, homework, homework, and today, I finally feel like I finished a huge load. :'( sorry I kept y'all waiting... and um... I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with this chapter but I hope you guys enjoy it.

please r&r !

**disclaimer: **i dont own knb

* * *

Midorima woke up on Sunday feeling stiff and anxious. The moment he awoke, he knew something was off. He lay with his eyes closed for several minutes, trying to decipher what was wrong, before moving. But as soon as he did, he realized what was wrong. He was rock hard.

Midorima sat up and heaved a sigh. He tried not to wonder about what kind of dreams he had last night to cause him to wake up with an erection, but he could only conjure images of Takao in his head. Midorima pushed off his blankets hastily and glanced at the bulge in his pants.

_Might as well get it over with… _he thought.

Midorima swiftly shimmied out of his pants and underwear and grasped his length. He started to pump it slowly, but as images of Takao splayed underneath him unconsciously came to mind, he started to increase in speed. He imagined Takao lying on his bed, with his clothes off and his legs spread. In his mind, Takao was moaning out his name and his face was contorted with pleasure. He grew even harder at the thought.

* * *

Takao was kneeling in the bathroom awkwardly. He was trying to remember everything she had told them. Takao was also stark naked, and was feeling slightly chilly in the washroom.

"_Now guys, I'm going to get down to business. This is pretty basic stuff. Guys usually have sex with one guy penetrating the other. There are other types too, if anal sex isn't your thing…"_

Takao shook his head. He would never know if he liked it or not without trying.

"_Don't use soap when you're cleaning. It'll cause damage, so just use warm water. Also, make sure that you're eating a healthy diet, so that you've excreted everything out. You don't want any nasty surprises right?"_

He grabbed the showerhead from off the wall and twisted off the top. Takao stared at the rubbery pipe for a few moments before taking a deep breath. He made sure that the bathroom door was locked once more, and returned to his place beside the shower. The showerhead didn't reach the floor, so he guessed that he had to do this standing up. He prodded himself with his cold fingers and winced.

"This isn't going to work…" Takao muttered angrily.

Nonetheless, he continued to poke and prod, but wasn't willing to go any further.

"Fuck this…" Takao roughly inserted a finger and wiggled it around. He felt gross and dirty, but continued anyways. Slowly, he discovered that he was loosening around one finger, so he inserted another. Takao repeated the process again until he found that his muscles were relaxed.

He then grabbed the showerhead and uneasily turned it on.

* * *

Takao had to admit; the feeling of water filling him up inside was not pleasant at all. He finally managed the task and staggered out of the bathroom, fully dressed. He still felt strange in his southern regions. Takao cursed at himself.

He really couldn't see Midorima being a bottom the first time they gave sex a shot, so he had unconsciously volunteered to take the position.

Takao shut the door behind him silently and started to tiptoe to his room. He stopped in front of Midorima's door out of curiousity. The door was shut but Takao tried to turn the handle.

Unlocked.

He turned it all the way and opened the door, thanking the greased hinges for not creaking or squeaking. Takao stepped into the doorway but froze immediately.

He could tell that Midorima was sitting up in bed. There was the sound of heavy breathing and skin coming in contact to skin, and Takao slapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from making a noise.

_Holy shit_. Takao thought. _Did I walk in on Midorima… doing something… improper?_

He stood there, listening to the obscene noises, and couldn't bring himself to move. He couldn't leave and he couldn't walk any further. Takao's feet were planted to the ground but his legs threatened to turn to jelly from his bathroom session.

It felt like he walked in on his parents having sex, or something. He stood there, painfully aroused, and blocked by the wall. Midorima couldn't see him, but Takao could hear him. He took a deep breath and tried to lift a foot. It was useless.

Takao clenched his fists and mentally berated himself.

_Move! _

He took a step forward, and then fully walked into view before he could stop himself.

"Do you need some help with that?" Takao managed to say.

Midorima's head snapped up and a furious blush suffused his cheeks. Takao tried not to look down at Midorima's hands but he already could guess what he was doing.

"What…" Midorima's mouth opened but stayed still for a few moments. "Get out!" He nearly hollered and quickly grasped the ends of his blankets and covered himself.

"You're so creepy! Go die!" Midorima said in a muffled voice.

Takao stood awkwardly at the end of the bed, unsure of what to do. He walked over to the side of the bed tugged off the blanket forcibly.

"This is the kind of thing I'm supposed to do for you." Takao said with burning cheeks. He was doing his best to be brave, but Midorima wasn't helping at all.

Midorima turned his head away and refused to look at Takao.

"…Were you…" Takao tried not to gnash his teeth together. "…Thinking about me?" He managed to say this with extreme difficulty.

There was a full minute where both of them said nothing. Takao stared at Midorima's ear and tried not to grab his shoulders and shake him until his brains flew out. He was feeling frustrated.

Finally, Midorima spoke.

"Yes." He said in a clipped tone.

Takao reeled. He did not expect an answer like that. He felt his confidence grow slightly and he leaned forward and grabbed Midorima's head.

Takao lowered his lips to Midorima's ear.

"Well guess what… I just cleaned myself."

He stood back to watch the boy's reaction. Midorima slowly turned to look at Takao with red cheeks and a heated gaze. Takao squirmed under this look and he dropped his eyes to another location.

"…Do you want to try?" Midorima asked.

"First things first… why don't I help you get rid of something." Takao chewed his bottom lip.

"What?" Midorima asked.

Takao clambered onto the bed, tore off the sheets and sat on Midorima's leg.

"This, of course." Takao pointed to Midorima's hard-on and Midorima jerked back.

"What are you going to-" He was cut off when Takao lowered his mouth onto Midorima's length and gave it a tentative lick.

"Wait-" Midorima tried to say something but Takao ignored him and took him into his mouth. He found it hard to breathe through his nose and focus on sucking Midorima off at the same time. Nonetheless, he continued to wet the hard length with his own saliva and swirled his tongue over the tip. Midorima let out a groan and grabbed Takao's head.

_Damn, this isn't as easy as I thought_… Takao groaned internally as he tried his best not to rake his teeth over the sensitive skin. His mouth wasn't big enough to fit the whole length so he stroked the rest of it with his hand. He knew that he wasn't good at this, but Takao hoped that Midorima would come either way.

Midorima continued to clutch Takao's head with a fierce intensity and Takao could tell that he was doing his best to not thrust into Takao's mouth. He silently thanked him, because he wasn't sure if he could stop himself from choking if Midorima decided to do so.

He wasn't sure how it happened, but just as his jaw was feeling sore as hell, Midorima tried to pull Takao's head away, and he confusedly complied. He withdrew and sat back, but continued to stroke him with his hand.

Midorima had his eyes shut with an expression of intense pleasure, and he began to come. Takao felt his hand turn sticky and moist, and he realized with a jolt that he was hard himself.

"Shit…" He muttered and Midorima opened his eyes. His breathing began to slow and Takao slid off Midorima's legs.

"What's wrong?" He looked at him, slightly wild-eyed.

"I'm hard." Takao mumbled.

"What?" Midorima asked again.

"I'm. Hard." Takao said loudly.

Midorima looked at him for a couple of seconds, and looked down, and up again. Takao shifted uncomfortably.

"Get the bag." Midorima finally said.

"Wha-" Takao didn't finish his question before coming to a realization.

Midorima leaned back and grabbed a tissue from the bedside table. He began to clean up the mess and looked up at Takao, and back down to his hard-on. Takao squirmed and slid off the bed, trying to mask his excitement. He turned around and began to walk briskly towards the door.

"We're going to need the lube." He called.

He returned to the bathroom and grabbed the bag off the counter. Takao stood still in seclusion for a few moments. His heart was beating wildly and the blood was quickly rushing to his privates. He held the bag up and grasped it with two hands. Takao began to tear the brown paper and relished in the ripping noise it began to produce. He did it slowly, to elongate the experience.

Takao knew, that once he opened this bag, things would begin to tumble out. Things that would change important things in the future would fall out. Takao's hands shook slightly and he knew that this was a decisive action.

Bottles and boxes fell into a sink noisily and Takao tossed the remnants of the bag behind him and placed his hands on the counter. He felt like a scavenger who had finally found something of worth.

This was treasure.

* * *

see you whenever I get back from the hell called university apps and work


	18. 18

**A/N: **Long time no see, guys! It's been so insanely busy for me, since I had music concerts, work, and random Xmas parties everywhere... Hope you are all doing well, keeping safe, and having great holiday! I recently downloaded an app called FocusWriter that really helped me crank this chapter out. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KnB.

* * *

Midorima had finished cleaning up the mess they had made earlier, and had thrown away the dirtied tissues. He now sat on his bed -still in his pyjamas- and rubbed his eyes. He felt fully alert, even decided to get off and do something. Midorima carefully folded his bed sheets, tucked in the corners and shuddered.

Takao and him and done something dirty on these sheets. He didn't want to sleep on something like that. He grabbed the already-made sheets and ripped them off the bed and took off the covers of the blanket, and took the bed sheet from the mattress. He piled them up and went to toss them into the laundry room downstairs. He started the washing machine, and watched it run with a sense of satisfaction. Cleaning always made him feel better.

Midorima hated using anything dirty and sometimes changed his bed sheets twice or thrice a month. At the time when Takao had clambered onto his bed, he was disoriented and confused, but if he weren't, he would have shoved Takao off immediately. The thought of anyone touching his bed disgusted him slightly, even if it was Takao.

Midorima grabbed new sheets (smelling like fresh laundry detergent) and returned to his room and put the appropriate covers back to their respective places. He leaned against his closet for a minute, wondering where Takao went.

_Are we really going to do this? _

Midorima massaged his temples, trying to soak in the situation. He grew impatient and left his room. The bathroom door was thrown open, and he saw Takao standing in front of the sink. He was reading bottle labels with a concentrated expression. Takao turned his head to look at Midorima as soon as he noticed his presence.

He set down the bottle he was holding and Midorima looked down at him.

"You're taking forever."

He watched Takao grin.

"Patience, Shin-chan. I need to figure out what is what, first." He gestured to the sink that now held several boxes and bottles.

"Can you hurry up?" It was more of a demand than a question.

"No." Takao quipped stubbornly.

They stared defiantly at each other for a few moments, and Midorima walked into the bathroom and stopped behind Takao. He could feel Takao's eyes on him, looking at him through the mirror. Midorima gave him a scowl, before stopping.

"Well then I'll make you hurry up." Midorima said.

"Oh, really. How are you going to do that?" Takao drawled sarcastically.

A competitive feeling suddenly bubbled up within Midorima and he slid both of his hands under the waistband of Takao's pants to grab his ass.

Takao jumped, but Midorima continued to feel his fleshy behind and boldly groped it.

"Wait-" Takao pleaded but was cut off by Midorima sliding a hand under his shirt and brushing against his nipple.

"Where…" Takao breathed heavily, "Did you learn to do this?"

"I stole the manual while you were asleep." Midorima admitted blatantly. Right now, he could barely focus on what Takao was saying. He loved the way Takao was squirming in his arms from every single little movement Midorima made on his body. He could feel Takao trying not to twitch but his body gave in to Midorima instead.

Midorima slipped a hand back under Takao's pants and slid a finger down the crack of his ass and gently prodded his hole.

Takao muttered something unintelligible and arched back. He grabbed Midorima's head down and blindly reached up to kiss him. They met in a wet embrace and when they withdrew, Takao let go of his hair.

"Okay, I'll hurry up."

Takao blindly grabbed a random bottle of lube and a box of condoms before Midorima quickly picked him up, bridal style, and carried him out of the bathroom. He could hear Takao's protests that weren't really protests at all, but just displeasure in being treated like a girl. Midorima ignored him, since his semi-hard erection was bothering him more than Takao's complaining. He decided to go into Takao's room, since it was closer, and there was a bigger bed. Midorima kicked the door open with his foot and dumped Takao onto the bed and stared down at him.

Takao was looking up at him with a sultry expression that Midorima wondered if he was the only one feeling nervous.

* * *

As Takao lay on the bed, staring up at Midorima, he decided that he must be the only one in the situation that was freaking out. He felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest, and his palms felt sweaty. Worst of all, his underwear was growing tighter and tighter, and Midorima was doing nothing to relieve it, and he was only making it worse. He let out a shaky breath and decided to be brave.

"Take of your shirt," Takao ordered.

Midorima tossed him a look before grabbing the hem of his shirt and peeled it off his body. Takao drank in the sight of his chest, sat up, and began to run his hands along his torso. He felt Midorima flinch in surprise, and as he ran his hands along Midorima's stomach, he felt the muscles contract.

"That...tickles." Midorima protested.

Takao ignored him and continued to feel the hard muscles, wondering why he found it so attractive. He moved his hands higher and higher, and got a good look at Midorima's nipples. Takao ran a thumb over one, and pinched it lightly. He felt Midorima grunt in response, and continued to play with them. He knelt closer and brought his face to Midorima's chest.

"Why do you always smell like laundry?" Takao asked.

"...Do you not like that?"

Takao ran a tongue over a hard bud and sucked on it experimentally.

"No, I love it." He moved to the second one and did the same as before. Takao stopped for a moment in realization that Midorima wasn't moving at all.

"Does that feel weird?" Takao looked up and chewed his lip nervously.

Midorima was looking at him with a strange expression and a clenched jaw.

"I don't know how to describe it. It's definitely... weird. But I haven't figured out whether I like it or not." Midorima coughed.

"Huh... Okay." Takao said. He hoped he didn't sound disappointed, but Takao guessed that he should give this some time. This was new for both of them, so they hadn't a single clue about what they liked or didn't liked. Takao silently thanked Shiori for drilling communication into them. Although it was awkward, he was glad that they were getting thoughts across. He didn't want this to turn into a disaster. He would never be able to face the consequences if it did. He also didn't expect Midorima to be completely honest.

He pulled Midorima's waistband towards him, and sat back on the bed.

"What are you doing, just standing there?" Takao crossed his arms expectantly.

Midorima gave him a dirty look and climbed onto the bed, causing the mattress to squeak under his weight and Takao's. Takao flinched at the noise, but Midorima ignored it and began to pull down his pants.

"Woah, wait-" Takao trailed off in surprise. "Hold on..."

Midorima got his underwear and pants halfway down before he stopped.

"What else are we supposed to do at this point, idiot?" Midorima said.

"I guess you're right..." Takao said awkwardly. He felt a sudden urge to cover his red face. This was scarier than he had imagined. Midorima tossed his pants onto the floor and Takao stared at his well-toned thighs and calves. Midorima suddenly grabbed his feet and pulled them towards himself.

"Hey!" Takao sputtered as Midorima started to forcefully pull off his pants. There was nothing he could do to stop him, so he was left with his shirt and his underwear, while Midorima was completely naked.

"Relax." Midorima said lowly. He knelt forward and kissed the inside of Takao's thigh.

_Oh my go-_

He didn't have time to collect his thoughts before suddenly he was bottom from the waist-down, and was in the process of becoming completely naked from the waist-up, too. Midorima was manhandling him to get all his clothes off, and Takao felt frozen and unsure of what to do. Before he knew it, he was naked too.

Takao shivered a little as his bare skin came in contact with the air.

Takao tried his best not to look down and ogle at Midorima's privates, but he ended up doing it anyways. He felt mesmerized by the sight of another person's left, and felt strange due to the fact that it was _Midorima's. _

Midorima crossed his legs and frowned at Takao.

"Stop staring at my dick."

Takao burst into laughter at this, and he suspected that Midorima said it to lighten the tension in the air. Although Midorima wasn't smiling at him, he could tell that he was smiling on the inside. Takao scooted closer to him and place a hand on Midorima's cheek, not caring that his palms were sweaty as hell.

"Alright." Takao said before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on Midorima's lips.

He sat in front of Midorima and grabbed the box of condoms that had been tossed haphazardly onto the bed and opened it. Several silver packaged squares fell out, and he grabbed one and threw the rest back into the box. He felt slightly awkward, opening it in silence, and once it was opened, he wasn't even quite sure of what to do next. Takao made up his mind and started to roll it onto Midorima. They sat there in silence as Takao did his best to put the condom onto Midorima. He stopped halfway, because he saw his hands shaking visibly.

"Uh..." Takao said nervously.

Midorima covered his hands with his own, and Takao felt extremely warm. He didn't say anything, but started to guide Takao's hands steadily, until the condom was fully sheathed on. Takao snuck a look up at Midorima and found that he was looking at Takao too. He leaned forward again and grabbed Midorima's head before kissing him again. This time, Midorima kissed him back and they stayed in an embrace for a few minutes.

"_Remember to take it slow." _Midorima quoted Shiori's words.

"Gotcha." Takao muttered against Midorima's lips and he lay himself back onto the bed. "Get the lube."

Midorima complied, and found the bottle on a pillow. He popped open the cap and ripped off the seal. Takao watched him squirt a droplet onto his finger and he shook his head.

"You're not going in dry, are you?" He said sarcastically.

"I"m looking at it before I slather it all over my fingers." Midorima pursed his lips and proceeded to pour a generous amount onto his right hand. The liquid was rather scentless and clear. Takao twitched as Midorima brought his fingers to Takao's behind and grunted as Midorima probed him. He felt a finger slip into him, and tried to force himself to relax. His muscles seemed to contract at every single movement, and Takao gritted his teeth.

"Hold on, hold on." Takao held up a hand. "Let me relax."

Midorima paused and nodded.

Takao closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

_Relax, relax. It's just Shin-chan. _He told his mind and body this in the Midorima's finger no longer felt like a painful intrusion, he gave him a nod and he felt another finger being inserted into him. He squirmed at the strange sensations, and at the slight pain.

"This is kind of gross." Midorima said.

"Shut up. You're ruining the mood, Shin-chan." Takao complained.

"Whatever." Midorima continued to push his fingers in, and Takao could feel him trying to find his prostate. Midorima started to run his finger against the top and Takao shut his eyes. He almost decided to give up, and was about to tell Midorima to stop right when a jolt went through his length. He threw his head back and closed his eyes. Midorima noticed his reaction and continued to rub his fingers against the spot that he hit. Takao felt his erection growing harder and harder and he clenched his jaw tight.

"Shit..." Takao moaned. "That's the spot."

* * *

Midorima was fully enjoying himself at the moment.

He was seriously enjoying the sounds that Takao was making, the way he threw his head back, and his pleasured expression. He continued to massage his prostate even though he felt inexperienced, but was absolutely amazed at the reactions Takao was producing. He grabbed at the bed sheets wildly, and Midorima saw that he was oozing precum already. Once Midorima got over the initial disgust at having to insert his finger into Takao, he actually found the experience pleasurable. He looked down and saw that he was growing harder at the sight of Takao.

"You're so damn erotic." Midorima told him.

"Ha... Shut...up...ha..." Takao breathed heavily. Midorima saw that he was almost nearing his limit, and decided to pull out. Immediately, Takao protested but Midorima ignored him once more. He sat back and waited for Takao to follow suit.

"Why'd you stop?" Takao said gloomily. "That felt amazing. Better than amazing, actually."

"You're going to get on top of me." Midorima said straight-forwardly.

Takao's mouth formed a small o for a moment before he blinked and recovered.

"Well, alright then, Shin-chan. If you say so." Takao raised his eyebrows. He managed to bring himself up, and climbed into Midorima's lap.

"How am I supposed to do this..." He muttered into Midorima's ear. Midorima felt his length touching the tip of Takao's opening.

"Go slowly. Do whatever you want." Midorima said.

"...Really?" Takao seemed surprised.

"I'm not going to force you." Midorima frowned.

Takao leaned back and stared into Midorima's eyes.

"Thank you." He placed a kiss on his cheek, and Midorima felt his face burning. This was almost too embarrassing for him to handle.

Takao began to lower himself, with a free hand on Midorima's length, trying to guide it in. Eventually, he felt Takao relax, and take him in. Slowly, he was sheathed into Takao, and Midorima forced himself to not grab Takao's hips, and start pounding into him forcefully. Takao felt hot against his length.

Takao stayed still for a few seconds with Midorima's cock inside of him, and wriggled uneasily.

"This feels weird." He huffed.

"Get used to it." Midorima said bluntly.

Takao gave no response, as he started to lift himself, and lower himself. Midorima grunted at the tight friction and he placed his hands on Takao's hips.

"Wait, wait." Takao sounded slightly panicky.

"I'm not going to do anything." Midorima groaned.

"Okay, okay." Takao lowered himself once more, and started to repeat the action, Eventually he began to speed up, and as he shifted the angle at which he was coming down, Takao managed to find his prostate.

"Hell." Takao cursed and started to aim for it again. The sound of Takao's ass slapping onto Midorima's thighs started to get louder and louder, and the squeak of the mattress only added to the erotic atmosphere. Midorima looked up and saw Takao with flushed cheeks, and an expression of pure bliss and pleasure.

"God.. oh god..." Takao moaned and grabbed Midorima's hair.

"You're so tight." Midorima breathed.

"I'll... take that...hah... as a... compliment..." Takao managed to reply.

Midorima felt Takao begin to clench tighter and tighter around his cock, and he realized that Takao was about to come. Midorima felt the base of his length to make sure the condom was still secured on. Takao continued to ride Midorima's length, and Midorima grasped his length, stroking him through the orgasm. He came onto Midorima's stomach, but he ignored it and started to grasp Takao's hips more tightly.

"Can I?" He asked.

"Go ahead." Takao dropped his head down to Midorima's shoulder.

Midorima started to guide his hips, slamming him rather roughly back onto his cock. He was almost at his brink, and Takao wiped a beat of sweat off of his forehead for him.

"Ungh..." Takao groaned. "Don't make me hard again."

Midorima ignored him and started to thrust up in erratic rhythms. He grew tighter and tighter, until he felt himself release into the condom. The two finally slowed, as Takao sensed that Midorima had climaxed.

"...hah." Takao breathed heavily into Midorima's shoulder and Midorima realized he was hot and sweaty. Takao lifted himself off of Midorima easily (his legs were already used to vigorous exercise) and sat back onto the bed.

"Oh hell. I came all over you." Takao blushed furiously and Midorima suddenly found himself thinking that a blushing Takao was adorable.

_I'm so creepy_. Midorima frowned at himself.

"Are you mad?" Takao's mouth hung open in dismay.

"No, no, no..." Midorima hung his head and covered his face with his hand.

"Then why did you frown?" Takao asked. He grabbed a tissue from the bedside table and handed it to Midorima. He took it, and cleaned himself off.

"It's just that..." Midorima turned his head in order to avoid Takao's questioning gaze. "It's nothing. You're being stupid."

"_I"m _being stupid? Hah. What a joke." Takao narrowed his eyes.

Midorima slipped the used condom off and threw it into the waste bin with absolute accuracy, ignoring Takao's questions.

"...I was just thinking..."

"Yes?" Takao waved his hand, indicating for Midorima to continue.

Midorima slid off the bed and grabbed his own clothes off the floor. Takao followed behind him and Midorima ended up at the door.

"Aren't you going to answer me?" Takao complained.

Midorima wondered if he had the guts to say it. There he was, standing stark naked in the door of Takao's room, and all he wanted to do was escape to his room and mull over what exactly had transpired a few minutes ago. It didn't really seem to sink in to his brain.

He stepped into the doorframe and didn't dare turn back to look at Takao.

"You're cute when you blush." Midorima belted out when he got to his room, and turned around to shut the door abruptly. Before the door slammed shut, he caught sight of Takao's surprised expression, and Midorima wished he had never said anything. He threw his clothes onto the bed after locking the door and quickly dressed himself. Instead of heading to the bathroom for a shower, he sat on the bed for a long time, trying even outing his breathing, and calm his erratic heartbeat. It finally sank into his brain, and he felt himself growing more and more nervous.

_This is not good. _Midorima tried to pinch himself.

_This isn't a dream, right? _

It was the most erotic thing that Midorima had _ever _done, and was probably the only erotic thing Midorima had ever done. But the thing that made him embarrassed wasn't the eroticism; it was the fact that he completely bared himself to Takao, both physically and emotionally in the past week. He no longer felt detached from his surroundings. It scared him slightly, and made him uncomfortable. He couldn't pretend that he didn't care anymore.

Instead, he felt like there were a million threads tying him to everything, and the thread that was connection him and Takao was red.

* * *

Till next time! Get your Xmas shopping done guys. :')


	19. 19

**A/N: **HEY LOVELIES! How y'all doin? ;; I've been a bit busy to write but I got something out at last! (Hope I didn't lose any readers... geh...) I can't believe how much I've written for this fic! (it scares me a bit) ok so my winter break just started, so here's an early Christmas gift to you all. I'm going to have more time to write now (hopefully) so I HOPE YOU'LL ENJOY THIS CHAPTER :-(

(was kind of surprised I didn't have a massive influx of commentary for the XXX... maybe you guys were too busy re-reading it) JUST KIDDING. HAHAHA ;)** Happy Holidays, Read and review bbz!1**

**Disclaimer: **dunt own knb

* * *

Takao stood very still, under the jet of hot water that was currently pouring over his body. He let the water run through his hair over and over again, watching the droplets fall onto his feet and trickle down his body. He tried to look at his body objectively. He supposed he looked fit enough, but he probably looked like a scrawny stick to Midorima. Takao looked at his pale skin and wondered if Midorima thought he looked like a ghost. His whole body felt unattractive at the moment.

"What the _hell," _Takao groaned and pulled at his hair. He felt like a complete idiot for acting like a girl in this situation. Midorima probably had no shits to give about what Takao's body looked like. Midorima hardly gave two shits about anyone, honestly. He supposed that he should fell lucky that he even _meant _something to the guy. Great. Now he was sounding like a girl again. A girl in a teenage drama.

"Snap out of it." He gave himself a light slap on the cheek and turned the water off. Takao slipped into the ofuro and sank down as low as he could without having to hold his breath. He let the warmth engulf him, but it didn't feel quite as comforting like Midorima's arms would make him feel. He felt himself grow red and he resisted punching the side of the tub.

"_You're cute when you blush." _

Takao covered his face in embarrassment. He didn't want anyone seeing him _blush_. Midorima was the last person he wanted to see him blush. He imagined himself looking like a drunken idiot.

_Now I'm over thinking this_.

Takao looked up at the ceiling and sighed. The warm water felt good against his sore muscles. Sex definitely wore him out. He felt himself growing red again, realizing what he had just done, a little under an hour ago. They both had technically lost their virginities to each other.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" He hollered. The embarrassing thoughts wouldn't stop plaguing his mind.

The door to the bathroom suddenly creaked open and Midorima burst through.

"What, what's wrong?" Midorima exploded.

Takao stared up at him in confusion before realizing what he had done, and what had occurred in this bathroom previously.

"I'm okay! It's nothing. Just me... being... insane..." Takao trailed off.

Midorima stood awkwardly and cleared his throat.

"Okay. Had to make sure.. you were alright..."

He wasn't sure if it was the blood rushing to his head, or the fact that Midorima was standing in front of him, but he suddenly felt his head pounding furiously. His chest beating to the same rhythm. Midorima seemed to realize what he had barged into, and he took a step back. Seeing Midorima's reaction, Takao couldn't help but prod him a bit.

"What, are you embarrassed? S'not like you haven't seen this before." Takao smiled wryly and Midorima clenched his jaw.

"Shut up."

"Hey." Takao hung his arms outside of the tub and stared up at Midorima. He suddenly had an idea, but was unsure as to how to convey it. Midorima would never follow through unless Takao forced him.

"What?" Midorima glared at him.

"Strip."

* * *

Midorima wasn't sure if the sex addled Takao's brains, or he was just hot in the head from the _ofuro_. Either way, he stood there gaping at the naked boy in the tub for a good five seconds.

"What?" He tried to close his jaw.

"Don't be shy, you just stripped yourself _and _myself an hour ago!" Takao grinned widely and Midorima felt a bit of blood rush to his southern regions at the memory of their intimacies. He coughed abashedly. Midorima knew that he felt a lot more confident in the heat of the moment, but right now, he wasn't feeling it.

There was suddenly the sound of water splashing over the tiles and Midorima looked up from his gaze on the floor to see Takao climbing out the tub, dripping wet and naked.

"St-" He didn't finish before Takao approached him and grabbed the hem of pants and pulled down.

"Revenge." Takao licked his lips and Midorima stared at Takao's mouth. His face was currently flushed from the bath and his lips were cherry red. He wondered if it was partially because Midorima himself was present.

_That sounds narcissistic, _Midorima mentally berated himself.

He leaned down to capture Takao's lips in a wet kiss. The boy's arms immediately went around Midorima's head and he felt him running his hands through his hair.

"Mmmph..." Takao withdrew after Midorima gave him several opened-mouthed kisses.

"Let's not get too carried away." Takao stared at him seriously and slipped his hands under Midorima's shirt.

"Get this off." He frowned.

Midorima wasn't sure why he complied obediently, but after a few minutes, he found himself sitting with Takao on his lap in the _ofuro_. There really was barely any space for two bodies but Takao had insisted on doing so anyways.

Takao had his legs wrapped around Midorima's waist and looking down at him with a pleased look on his face.

"You look happy." Midorima commented.

"Why wouldn't I be? This is what I wanted to do earlier this week, remember?" Takao smiled, seemingly pleased. Takao didn't seemed to be bothered by the fact that they were both erect, and pressing up against each other in this position. Midorima slid his hands up Takao's bare back and the boy leaned down for another kiss.

Before they closed in, Midorima noticed that Takao had beautiful eyes. He was just about to comment on the colour of his irises when Takao swiped his tongue across Midorima's lips. He opened his mouth and entangled his tongue with Takao. The sensation of their mouths on each other still felt foreign, but it got better each time.

Midorima got even harder at the sounds their kisses were making, to the point where he found it almost unbearable. He slid a hand down and probed Takao's behind with a single finger.

Takao withdrew with a gasp.

"What are you doing?" Takao looked bewildered. "Sex in water is going to feel...uncomfortable for me..."

He looked slightly worried and Midorima shook his head in frustration.

"Well then what do we do about these?" He dropped his eyes down to their rock-hard cocks.

"..." Takao grew even redder, and he tried to look away. Midorima grabbed his chin to turn his head back.

"I'll try... to make it good." Midorima managed to blurt out. He didn't care about his pride at the moment. "Will you let me?" He asked uneasily.

Takao closed his eyes for a brief moment before nodding slowly.

"Promise you'll help me clean up afterwards." Takao muttered.

Midorima nodded distractedly before he started to insert a second finger.

* * *

Takao wasn't sure what was more erotic; the sound of the bed springs creaking at Midorima's thrusting, or the sound of the _ofuro_'s water sloshing uncontrollably as Takao rode Midorima. Either way, he was getting hard as a rock from the latter.

He threw his head back as Midorima grabbed his hips and thrust into Takao with a good deal of force. His length was chafing his insides, since they hadn't used any lubricant, but the pain was pretty much forgotten as Midorima struck his prostate. The jolts of pleasure were travelling down his cock and up his spine, and his legs threatened to give way with every upward motion he made. As much exercise he got regularly, he didn't think it helped in the face of his prostate being hit over and over again.

"I don't think...urgh... I can...ha..." Takao tried to convey a coherent thought but the pleasure was threatening to fry his brain. He was seeing white half the time, so he just opted for closing his eyes.

"Can't... move...mmph..." He bit his lips in an effort to keep in time with Midorima's thrust, but the boy didn't seem to notice a thing Takao was trying to tell him. He was grabbing Takao's hips with an almost bruising grip, since the water was making it almost impossible to do anything. Midorima finally seemed to notice Takao's legs giving way with each harder thrust he gave. He grabbed Takao's length and stroked it in time to his movements.

Takao groaned as his needy cock finally found friction, even though there was little due to the water. He buried his head into Midorima's shoulder and let the waves of pleasure take him.

As he came, he clenched almost painfully onto Midorima, and Takao felt a trail of saliva falling down from the corner of his mouth, but he was too distracted to do anything about it.

He threw his head back and tried not to dig his nails into Midorima's scalp. This time felt infinitely better than the first time. Midorima lost some of his uneasiness and was growing more confident.

Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation in his behind, and realized Midorima had came inside of him. It felt almost disgusting but Takao found it slightly erotic.

"Oh... hell..." Midorima moaned.

"You're gonna have... to clean that up... yourself..." Takao breathed heavily just as they heard the doorbell ring in the distance.

They both froze, and the afterglow was immediately ruined. They met each other's eyes with panicked expressions and Takao felt Midorima withdrawing.

"Don't get that." Takao said fiercely.

The doorbell rang again, and this time more insistently. It rang several times in a row, but neither of them knew what to do. The easiest way out was to ignore it.

_Who the hell was at the doorstep?_

* * *

see you next time! ;_; and pls review if u can


	20. 20

**a/n: HAPPY 20TH CHAPTER! Ahhhh! **You have no idea how much it means to me to have written a fic with more than 30,000 words and 170 reviews! /throws self into an abyss ;;3;3;;

you guys have really kept me going with your reviews and i thank you soooo much. phew. i've been busy with work lately since i'm on a break from school. but here's another chapter. HAPPY NEW YEAR ! (if i dont update by then)

enjoy

* * *

"Shit."

Takao cursed as the doorbell began to ring even more persistently. He scrambled to get out of the tub and almost succeeded but was roughly pulled down by his waist. He gasped in surprise and flailed his arms.

"What are you doing?" Takao tried to pull away as Midorima clutched him from behind.

"Ignore it." Midorima said in a low voice, as he brought his lips close to Takao's ear. He shuddered at the sudden contact and almost wanted Midorima to continue whispering into his ear. He squeezed his eyes closed in an effort to not make any weird noises as Midorima's arms encircled him. Takao was still for awhile, amazed at the fact that here they were, together in the _ofuro_, and Midorima hadn't run off with his tail in between his legs yet. He was even resting his chin on Takao's shoulder.

He sighed contentedly at the feeling of Midorima's strong arms holding him. He wouldn't admit it, but this was becoming one of his favorite things to do with Midorima.

The doorbell finally ceased ringing and Midorima started to probe Takao's behind once more.

"H-hey! What are you..." Takao inhaled sharply.

"Shut up. I promised to help you clean up... right..." Midorima said.

Takao felt himself growing hot in the face at this comment. He felt Midorima kiss his neck gently before continuing.

"Are you sure you know how to do this?" Takao said worriedly.

Midorima nipped at a patch of skin on his shoulder and licked it tentatively.

"I listened to Shiori too, remember? Now be quiet."

* * *

After their episode in the bath, Takao retreated cowardly back into his room, and made sure he had locked the door. He made it to his bed with shaky legs before collapsing onto the mattress.

_My legs feel like we had intensive practice... and more... _Takao inhaled deeply. He stared languidly up at the ceiling before realizing his cellphone was ringing. Takao sat up and grabbed it from the top of the drawer. There were new message notifications flashing up at him.

_2:02 p.m. Kise Ryouta: why aren't you answering the door! i know you're in there ;3;_

_2:07 p.m. Kise Ryouta: you're horrible. bet you're too busy being naughty with midorimacchi! _

_2:10 p.m. Kise Ryouta: did you forget about me? fine, i'll be at the cafe at 5:00pm_

_2:10 p.m. Kise Ryouta: i'm sure you'll be done by then_

Takao groaned in realization. He had completely forgotten that he had made an appointment with Kiseyesterday. He had texted him early in the morning, but had gotten completely sidetracked. He chewed his lip in thought before typing out a text.

_i'll be there. _

He hit send. Takao still wasn't completely at ease with how things were progressing with Midorima and he had no idea as to who else to talk to, other than Kise or Shiori. Takao crawled under his cold blankets and closed his eyes.

_You know what... I'm sure he's enjoying the sex, but once the situation really hits him, he might end up avoiding me... or even worse... hating me._

As Takao's thoughts turned dark and pessimistic, and a wave of exhaustion overcame him. He knew he was falling asleep, and blindly grabbed his phone and quickly set up an alarm for 4:30 p.m. and tossed it to the foot of the bed before falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

A shrill ringing awoke Takao from his nap, and he rolled onto his side, trying to muffle the alarm. His dreams had been full of strange things that he had forgotten the instant he woke up, and the sleep had been restless. Takao sat up with a pounding headache and grabbed his flashing phone from the end of the mattress. He quickly shut off the alarm before dropping back onto the bed. The bed had never felt so good before.

A persistent thought then jolted him awake. He had to go see Kise.

Takao tried to sit up but somehow ended up rolling off the bed instead, and he quickly tossed the blankets off his body and swung the closet door open. He grabbed whatever clothes he could find, threw them on, and left his room in a hurry. He heard Midorima's footsteps as he raced down the staircase and put on his shoes.

"Where are you going?" Midorima asked.

Takao looked up and blushed at the sight of the boy. Embarrassing thoughts and memories suddenly came flooding back into his brain and he ducked his head down.

"Going to see someone. I'll be back before dinner." He belted out before he scrambled out of the house as fast as he could in order to avoid Midorima. Takao wasn't sure about how he was supposed to act around him, now that they had done _such things _together. What were they anyways?

Fuck buddies? Friends?

Boyfriends?

He snorted at the incredulity of the last one and hastened his pace to the cafe.

* * *

Takao made it to the store at 5:01 p.m. and felt extremely hot from the fast pace that he had walked at. He tried to fan himself as he scanned the booths for Kise's head. A hand suddenly shot up into the air and he saw the boy sitting at the same table as before. Takao grinned and waved back. As he plopped into the cushioned seat, Kise sat up straight and looked at him with a knowing gaze.

"Hey." Kise smirked.

"What?" Takao frowned.

"Tell me. How was it?" Takao froze at the question and pursed his lips indignantly.

"Uh..." He failed to formulate a description.

"Well, you ignored my ringing, and I thought I broke that doorbell from pressing it so many times! It must have been _really _goo-" Takao held up his hand in protest.

"Keep your voice down!" Takao hissed and Kise chuckled.

"Don't be embarrassed. I knew Midorimacchi would be amazing in bed!" He said happily and Takao felt like hiding under the table.

"Do you have no shame in talking about these things?" Takao muttered.

"Not really." Kise smiled.

"Really? Then tell me. Who are _you _with?" Takao shot back with a devious grin.

Kise coloured a bit and Takao resisted the urge to pump his fist into the air.

_Jackpot. Finally something to tease him with._

"No one in particular." Kise waved his hand.

"No one in particular makes you blush like a tomato, huh?" Takao snickered.

"Oh shut up! Aomine does _not _make me blush-" Kise broke off midway before slapping a hand over his mouth.

"_Aomine?_" Takao hung his mouth open. "No. Way." He slapped the table and gasped.

"Did you become _super close _in middle school?" Takao joked.

Kise hid his face in his hands and shook his head furiously.

"Oh god. No. Shut up. We are good friends though."

"Alright. Best buds, eh." Takao said cheerfully and took half of the sandwich that was on Kise's plate before him.

"Hey!" Kise protested.

"Do you want me to tell everyone?" Takao raised an eyebrow.

Kise crossed his arms and looked at him darkly. "Go ahead. I don't care if you do. But you get to suffer Aomine's wrath."

"Oooh.. scary..." He said between bites.

"Well now you know." Kise shrugged.

"How long have you guys been..." Takao trailed off and took a bite of the sandwich.

"Going out?"

Takao stopped chewing and swallowed forcefully.

"Is that how you would describe it? Are you his boyfriend? And vice-versa?"

"Of course!" Kise looked at him with a questioning gaze. "What else?"

"...uh..." Takao muttered. "I don't know how Midorima would react if I called him my _boyfriend_. I think I would be in danger of getting another concussion."

"He _gave you a concussion_?" Kise's jaw dropped. "And I thought Aomine was bad..."

Takao shook his head. "It was an accident."

"Really? What kind of BDSM puts you in danger of getting a concussion? You guys are moving _fast!"_ Kise burst into laughter.

"Go to hell!" He threw a piece of bread crust at Kise.

"Oh yeah, and to answer your question... it's been going on for almost a year." Kise said.

"I see..." Takao mumbled. "So what are we now..."

"You and Midorima? Look at it this way. You guys are living together, _and _doing it. You're married!" Kise snickered loudly and Takao couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Haha. But seriously. What are we? Boyfriends?" Takao tapped the table with a fingernail.

"You're thinking too much about labels. You don't have to be _anything_. Just do what you're comfortable with." Kise chided. "That's all the advice I'll give."

Takao looked at the table in silence, mulling over Kise's words.

"Makes sense. I'll give it some more thought."

"Great! Are you feeling better now?"

Takao's head snapped up. "Huh? It was that obvious?"

"Why else would you text me?"

"To plan our next escapades together, of course." Takao joked.

"Alright. Next time we're going to the moon." Kise smiled and stood up. "Text me once you've got the spaceship."

"Aye aye, Captain." Kise tossed him a wave and turned around to leave. Takao turned back to the table and was about to prop his feet up onto Kise's seat when he heard Kise's voice once more.

"Shiori?"

Takao scrambled to his feet and saw the dark-haired girl standing in the doorway of the entrance with her eyes rimmed with red. She looked as if she had just woken up and had a dead expression on her face.

"Help me." Shiori sighed.

* * *

dont forget to review bbs hurhurhurhur


	21. 21

**a/n: **wow! I checked my traffic graph and even though I haven't updated in a while you guys have been still checking up! :'( I'm sorry for the delay. It's been a bit hectic...it's always busy during that time of the year. Here's a new chapter, and I have the next one lined right up so stay tuned.

**disclaimer: **_I don't claim to own knb_

* * *

"He's going to say yes."

The trio that consisted of Kise, Shiori, and Takao was currently nestled in a back booth of the cafe, sipping on warm drinks and having an animated discussion about a certain someone's love life.

Takao looked up at Shiori with a bored expression.

"What makes you think that? You girls are so dramatic, you always make the worst out of everything." Takao drawled. "Plus, this is so unlike you."

"You don't know me at all." She retorted angrily.

Kise was silent for the whole duration of Shiori's explanation and hadn't said a word since. He discarded his thoughtful expression and started to speak.

"So... let me get this straight again. A girl from our school goes to the health store to confess to Kei.. that sounds out of place." Kise tapped his chin.

"What else was she there for?" Shiori groaned. "So after they went into the back room to talk, I closed the store and left it as fast as I could. There was no way that I could have stayed there."

"First of all, you haven't even told us your feelings for him..." Takao waved a finger in the air expectantly. He watched as Shiori predictably turned red. Kise and Takao exchanged a look from across the table- not a mocking one, but a knowing one.

She stared emptily at the table for a few moments before regaining some vigour.

"Alright. I like him." Shiori resigned.

"Why do you sound so depressed about it?" Kise made a face. "Love should be a beautiful thing." He placed his hand on his chest and sighed dramatically.

Takao resisted giving him a hard look; He was starting to get used to Kise.

"It's not really a happy thing. My feelings for him... are unwanted." Shiori hung her head a bit and Takao couldn't hlep but feel a pain of guilt and sorrow. He felt sorry for berating her earlier.

"Is that based from your perspective, or his?"

"Both." She gave no further explanation.

* * *

"I should get back." Shiori dispelled the gloom that hung over the table as she stood up abruptly and scooted out of the booth. She donned her coat and Takao took a look out the window.

"It's raining, again." He groaned. "The weather just never wants to stay pleasant."

"Rain brings people together." Kise said. He was wearing a bittersweet expression.

"You'll have to tell me about that someday." Takao grinned.

"Someday," Kise replied.

"You'll have to tell me too. I need something to turn around the rain for me. Maybe your luck will rub off on me," Shiori sighed.

"Luck...huh..." Kise murmured. Takao felt lethargic from all the negativity from the conversation. He traced a pattern on the table distractedly.

Shiori withdrew her phone from her pocket and glanced at it briefly before shoving it back in.

"It's getting late. Do any of you have an umbrella?"

"No." Kise and Takao said at the same time.

Shiori made a face and flipped up her hood. The store was near empty at this point and Takao decided that he should be getting home as well.

"Do you live above the store?" Takao asked as he stood up and slipped into his jacket.

"No. I just need to go back to check that everything's locked up properly, I left too much in a hurry the first time." She said. The trio made their way to the door before a blasting ringtone shook them all from their inner thoughts.

Takao failed to recognise the ringtone but realized with a jolt that it wasn't his own cellphone.

Shiori frantically rummaged through her pocket and Takao watched as the phone slipped out of her fingers. It crashed to the floor with a crack and landed open. The screen flashed brightly for all three of them to see. The call was answered when the phone fell and the name **Takahiro Kei **was displayed.

"Oh no..." Shiori groaned and bent down to pick it up. Instead, Takao quickly snatched it away and pressed the speakerphone button.

"Hey! Takao! Stop-" Shiori's jaw dropped as she realised that her words were audible to the other end of the receiver.

"Hello?" A male voice said lowly.

"...Hello..." She said sullenly as her eyes darted to Takao and Kise. Kise looked at Takao with an amused mien and Takao forced down a chuckle.

"Where are you?" The scratchy speakerphone of Shiori's phone caused his voice to crackle.

"The cafe." Shiori said hesitantly.

"Great. I'm heading over there right now. We need to talk."

Takao watched as Shiori turned red and flustered within the span of two seconds- it suddenly occurred to Takao that when he himself blushed, it was actually _attractive _to Midorima.

_Wow. I can't believe something so embarrassing would be cute to your significant other..._

"No! It's okay. I actually already left; I'm on my way home." She waved her hands frantically towards Takao and Kise, and put a finger to her lips.

_Don't say anything! _She mouthed.

"We'll talk next time, okay?" Shiori didn't wait for a response. She quickly snatched the phone out of Takao's hands and snapped it shut.

Her shoulders heaved as she took a deep breath.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Kise poked her head. "You should be confronting this situation while you can."

She swatted his hand away irritably.

"It's better this way," She rolled her eyes, "Let's go."

They stepped out of the warmth of the building and Takao stuck his hands in his pockets. The rainclouds painted everything in gray and it just seemed to add to the upsetting atmosphere. They flipped their hoods up and tried their best to not get rain in their faces. As they descended the stairs, Takao suddenly saw Shiori disappear, and he froze, wondering where she had went. He looked at the floor and realized that she had fallen.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiii-" She howled in pain, clutching her ankle in pain. Her hood fell off and the rain fell on to her relentlessly. Kise and Takao scrambled to their knees frantically.

"Oh my god. Are you alright?" Kise rolled up the bottom of her pants to check her injury.

She said nothing as she bowled over and slapped the wet concrete.

"I think she's hurting too much to talk," Takao said worriedly, "And I think she rolled her ankle. How did you fall?"

After a full minute of silence, she lifted up her head and grimaced.

"I missed a step and then landed on the side of my foot," She winced again, "I think I can walk."

"No you can't."

The three of them lifted up their head to see a tall figure holding up a black umbrella looming overhead.

"Oh." Shiori said. He approached them and handed the umbrella to Shiori and she took it silently. He grabbed her legs, slipped his arm around her waist and hoisted her up.

He started to walk away but Shiori stopped him.

"Kei, wait." She craned her head around him to look at Takao and Kise.

"Text us." Kise waved and Takao said nothing.

"Alright." She nodded.

* * *

By the time Takao had reached the house, he was completely drenched in rainwater, and with every step he took, there was the squish of the water in his socks and shoes. He had already passed the point of cold and was just numb. The rain was dribbling off his hair and getting into his eyes.

He tried to open the front gate but his hands weren't listening to his commands. Takao grunted and opted for climbing over it instead. His breath came out in wisps of evaporation.

The lights were on inside as he stepped in, and Takao sighed as the warmth enveloped him.

He kicked off his shoes and quickly took off his socks. If he squeezed them, there probably would have been a waterfall pouring onto the hardwood. Takao hummed a random song under his breath as he tiptoed his way to the bathroom, doing his best not to touch anything. The sight of Kei holding Shiori so protectively lifted up his mood by a tremendous amount.

As he peeled off his wet clothes, it suddenly struck him that Shiori and Kei were so free to do such a thing in public. Takao tried to list the amount of _couple-like _things that him and Midorima could so in public, but there were barely any.

Then again, they hadn't really established a clear status yet. Takao stood in front of the mirror and stared at himself.

_Is he going to classify us as fuck-buddies? _He winced at the term and grabbed a towel to wrap himself up in.

The bathroom door opened abruptly and Takao hissed in surprise. Midorima took a glance at Takao and his expression grew inscrutable.

"Why are you all wet?"

"Forgot an umbrella," he said as he used the towel to dry off his hair, "Gotta go get a change of clothes."

Takao tried to keep the conversation short, since he was naked and feeling awkward. He gave Midorima a side glance, but he stil wasn't moving an inch from the doorway.

"...Aren't you going to move?"

Midorima frowned at him and grabbed the towel from his hands and proceeded to throw it on the floor.

"You left me to eat on your own, I want some dinner too."

"Aren't there leftovers in the fridge?" Takao brushed past him and headed for his room, still stark naked. Suddenly, he was staring at the roof and his legs and arms were flailing in the air. Midorima had picked him up and then dumped him onto his own bed roughly.

"What the he-" Takao scrambled under the blanket to hide his body but Midorima grabbed the other end and pulled it off the bed.

"No, I want something fresh." He said seriously and Takao's jaw fell open.

"Fresh?" He echoed.

Midorima climbed onto the bed and grabbed Takao's legs and forced them open.

"Holy-" He was cut off as Midorima brought his face towards his inner thigh.

"Something... hot..." Midorima murmured as he looked at Takao's cock.

Takao's eyes grew wide and he threw his head back when Midorima gave a tentative lick to the tip of his length.

"Hah... I didn't peg you as a dirty talker," Takao breathed.

Midorima swirled his tongue around the slit before withdrawing quickly.

"What? What's wrong?" Takao groaned. Midorima sucked in a breath irritably.

"I forgot to ask you first..." Midorima mumbled.

Takao sat up and looped his arms around Midorima's neck.

"Of course this is okay..." He brought his lips close to Midorima's ear and whispered softly.

"I'm cold from the rain, why don't you warm me up?' Takao laughed softly before Midorima took a hold of his face and planted a fierce kiss on his lips.

* * *

**read and review bbs . ilu**


	22. 22

**a/n: **super quick update just for you lovely readers. (also because i already wrote this one beforehand hehehehe) ... enjoy

**discliamer: i dont own knb**

* * *

Takao yawned and stretched out his limbs. He felt unbelievably sore, and his waist felt like it was going to snap in two. He rubbed his eyes a few times and as he stood in the bathroom, he nearly screamed when he saw how dark his eye bags were. Takao leaned in closer to the mirror to take a look at them, and laughed.

_That's what happens when you spend the night doing… vigourous exercise._

He quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face before he dashed down to the kitchen to get breakfast prepared. After thirty minutes, Takao had already fried the potato croquettes and prepared the miso soup, and was just getting ready to place them onto the table when he heard footsteps behind him.

"_Ohayou_…." A deep voice grumbled and Takao turned around to see a sleepy Midorima. His hair was sticking out from several ends and he looked unusually messy. His glasses however, hid his eye bags and Takao felt jealous of him.

"_Ohayou_, Shin-chan." Takao said. "You know my waist is dying right now? You really are a monster." He teased.

Midorima merely sat down in one of the chairs and shot a look at Takao. He crossed his arms.

"It's not my fault you were begging for it." Midorima glared at the boy but he felt no menace in his gaze.

Takao burst into laughter. Midorima was too adorable, even if he wasn't aware of it himself. It was Takao's little secret.

"You mean… like this?" Takao walked over to Midorima and plopped himself down onto the green-haired boy's lap. He hung his arms around Midorima's neck and brought his face close.

"Shin-chan…" He whispered. "Fuck me." Takao nuzzled Midorima's neck before pulling away. He grinned up at Midorima and was surprised to see him wearing an even darker expression than before.

"Get up." He said.

Takao's smile faded as he was suddenly filled with fears that Midorima had overreacted to a joke, once again. He did as he was told but Midorima didn't move an inch.

"Take everything off the table."

"_What_?" Takao said.

"Do it." Midorima frowned and Takao arched an eyebrow at him. "Now."

"Okay…?" Takao shrugged and took the placemats and food off the table, and back onto the counter.

"Are you not hungry… or something-" He stopped as Midorima stood up and approached Takao near the end of the table.

Worst-case scenario, Midorima was going to kill him right then and there. Takao silently thanked the heavens that he wasn't going to die a virgin, though. Or, Midorima was going to kick him out. Takao didn't know which option he would prefer.

Suddenly, Midorima grabbed his hips and pushed him towards the table. Takao's mouth formed a small O as he felt himself backing into the wooden table and stared at Midorima with wild eyes. Midorima also was staring back, with a ferocious look in his eyes.

"You're still clean from last night, right?" He heard Midorima whisper into his ear.

"Yea…?" Takao managed to sputter out.

"Good."

He felt a pair of lips press onto his, and then they were both ravishing each other's mouths. Takao wrapped his arms around Midorima's warm, warm waist and pressed himself against the boy's hard chest.

This was better than any of the other options.

"Mmph…" Takao groaned as Midorima pried his lips open with his tongue and explored his mouth. He responded by fiercely meeting Midorima's tongue with his own. Takao faltered as Midorima slid his hands over the small of his back and rested on his ass. He stopped for a breather as Midorima grabbed his ass.

"Unn-" Takao threw his head back and tried to rub his crotch onto Midorima's. He succeeded for a second before Midorima grabbed his hips and pushed him onto the empty table. Their breathing both quickened at the hot friction from their erections rubbing onto each other's.

"You asked for it." Midorima muttered before grabbing the waistband of Takao's pants and underwear and pulled them down roughly.

"It was… a joke…" Takao breathed while staring up at Midorima. The boy had a red tinge to his cheeks but was already taking himself out of his pants.

Takao kicked off his pants and underwear from his feet and quickly tossed off his shirt before he could feel embarrassed.

He watched as Midorima grabbed the bottom of his own shirt and began to peel it off of his chest. Takao felt as if his heart was about to beat out of his chest as he watched Midorima expose his abdominal muscles, his pectorals, and then his nipples. It was _literally _his dream come true. At least this time Midorima's mother wasn't watching them.

"Oh God…" Takao looked up at the ceiling and screwed his eyes shut. "This isn't a dream, right?"

"No you idiot." Midorima began to probe Takao with lube-covered fingers and Takao bit back a moan that he wanted to let out.

"Did you bring the lube and a condom down with you?" Takao said teasingly.

"Shut up." Midorima said as he inserted a finger.

"We're going to be late, at this rate." Takao gritted his teeth. "I'm relaxed enough. Do two."

Midorima lifted Takao's legs up and kissed one of thighs. "Whatever you say."

_Dammit. Why did my heart just skip a beat, like a shoujo manga? _Takao thought as his heart rate sped up.

They were both hard as rocks and when Midorima finally withdrew his fingers, Takao breathed a sigh of relief.

"No. No no no." Midorima suddenly stopped midway.

"What? What's wrong?" Takao craned his head up.

"I forgot… to ask you…" Midorima grew red and Takao remembered what he was talking about.

"Oh! You mean, Shiori's step number one?" Takao grinned. "Idiot. Of course I want this. Now hurry up, Shin-chan. I want you inside me…" He said experimentally.

Midorima reacted just the way Takao had wanted him to. Midorima grabbed a condom from his abandoned pants and tore opened the package like a ravenous crow would attack food. He withdrew the condom and glanced at Takao.

"No pressure." Takao gave him a lopsided-smile. It might have been his own imagination but he thought he saw Midorima's eyes widen for a second before returning his attention to the condom.

He rolled the plastic over his fully-erect length and Takao marveled at his bravery. He really didn't think Midorima would accept this side of things as easily as he was at the moment. After he had finished, Midorima immediately began to enter Takao, and the raven-haired boy threw his head back again, breathing heavily and trying hard to relax. He wasn't sure if his body was used to this yet.

"You're tightening up…" Midorima observed.

"Just hold on a second." Takao pleaded and Midorima placed a hand on his hair.

"Of course I'll wait for you." He said gently and Takao felt his cheeks burning.

_Oh my god, since when did Midorima turn into a heartthrob? Maybe only during sex…_

Takao clenched his jaw and tried to will himself to loosen up. After a few seconds, he gave Midorima the thumbs-up.

"Go ahead."

This clear communication thing was taking a while to get used to, but it certainly produced good results.

Midorima started to move, and he buried himself to the hilt inside of Takao. He stopped for a few seconds, while Takao adjusted to the sensation.

"Go." Takao moaned as he itched with anticipation.

Midorima was wearing a tortured expression as he slowly began to move his hips. Takao closed his eyes as his body began to accept the intrusion, and he started to move with Midorima.

They had been going at it for a good while, when suddenly Midorima struck Takao's prostate and the boy let out a loud moan.

"Oh… yes… there, please…" He groaned.

"Ha…" Midorima breathed and began to speed up. "There, right?"

"Yeah. Try it again."

"Put your legs on my shoulder." Midorima gently guided Takao's feet and Takao complied easily.

"Remember? Maximize the sensation?" Midorima said with an embarrassed tone.

"Right! I totally forgo- Ahhhhh…" Takao broke off as Midorima continued to thrust vigorously. His insides felt chafed, and the sensations he was feeling were foreign and unfamiliar to him, but slowly, he started to feel more comfortable with his insides being filled up. It was sort of a daring, and sexual feeling that Takao couldn't help but take a liking to.

It made him even harder when he remembered that the thing driving up his ass was Midorima's _cock_. The one thing he had never thought he would be getting close to was now filling him up to the brim. Takao threw his head back onto the table and closed his eyes. He could hear his own breathy moans mingling with Midorima's grunts and groans, but it sometimes felt as if he was observing this scene from a distance.

He felt his cheeks starting to burn and he held up a hand to cover his face.

Midorima didn't seem to notice, and he continued to thrust into him with an unwavering rhythm. It started to row erratic, and Takao knew that he was reaching his end. Midorima closed his eyes as he climaxed and he continued to jolt Takao's prostate through it.

"Ugh…" Midorima groaned and they stayed still for a few seconds. Midorima dropped his eyes down to Takao after he had withdrawn, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"You haven't…" He trailed off.

Takao uncovered his face. "Silly, you didn't think that we would come at the same time, did you?" Takao laughed.

"Um…" Midorima blushed in embarrassment. "Shut up."

"Well, wanna help me come?" Takao raised his eyebrows.

Midorima slipped off his condom and threw it into the wastebin behind him. Takao stayed in his position, with his legs raised high. Midorima turned back to him, and looked at Takao's needy length.

"Please? Like last time" Takao said in a sincere tone.

Midorima muttered an oath and knelt at the edge of the table. Takao lowered his legs back onto Midorima's shoulders and couldn't help feeling surprised. He would have expected Midorima to say something like, "Screw you," and then leave him there, hard as a rock.

"I still don't know how to do this." Midorima said awkwardly as he hesitantly grabbed Takao's cock.

"Just do your best, Shinchan. It would be wonderful anyways." Takao grinned.

Midorima flushed again and sputtered.

"Stop spewing out gross stuff like that while we're doing this!"

Takao's grin grew even wider.

"Shin-chan, I'm sure you find it sexy, right?" Midorima said nothing and placed Takao's length on his lips. Takao jolted and clawed at the table.

"Hurry up." Takao breathed heavily, "We're going to be late for school."

Midorima responded by giving Takao a rough lick, and engulfing him completely.

Takao's breathing grew harsh as he raised his head and watched Midorima suck him with his eyes closed, the usual fierce expression replaced with one full of quiet concentration. It was one of the most different expressions he had ever seen on Midorima's face.

His heart wrenched slightly, as he realized that he was lucky beyond belief to be able to see another side of this person.

"Suck in your cheeks" Takao ordered.

To his surprise, Midorima did as he asked, and hollowed his cheeks, causing the insides of his mouth to rub against Takao's cock. He bobbed vigorously, and Takao knew he was almost at his limit.

"…Shin-chan, I'm going to come, get off…." He moaned. "Oh god…"

Midorima's wet mouth on his length was too much to handle, and he was at his peak. Midorima still refused to remove himself from his length.

Takao spurted into Midorima's mouth, and he continued to suck him off as he came.

"Shit… What are you doing-" Takao moaned.

When he got up, Midorima had already swallowed and withdrawn.

"That is so gross, Shin-chan." He said.

Midorima stared at him with hooded eyes, and Takao slid off the table and knelt down.

He brought his face close to Midorima's and wiped off a drop of his own cum on the corner of Midorima's mouth.

"Actually… it's pretty sexy."

Takao knelt in and kissed Midorima.

"Thank you." He whispered.

Midorima looked at him and said nothing. Takao let this go, since he could tell that Midorima didn't know how to express himself at the moment.

"I think you need to brush your teeth again though."

* * *

After they both had gotten dressed and quickly shoved their breakfasts down their throats at the very table they had screwed on, Midorima and Takao flew at the door at the speed of light.

They had a short walk to the school, and it was a non-frequented route.

The weather was already transitioning into winter, and Midorima silently observed Takao rubbing his hands in an effort to keep them warm.

"Put them in your pockets."

"My pockets are full." Takao quipped.

"Well you're an idiot." Midorima sighed. He reached down and grabbed one of Takao's hands, and Takao looked up at him shyly before intertwining their fingers together.

Midorima marveled at the size difference between their hands. Takao didn't have tiny hands, but compared to Midorima's they were small. They walked up to the school entrance with their hands clutching each other's before Takao quickly withdrew.

Midorima didn't know what had compelled him to grab Takao's hand, but in that moment it had felt just right. It almost felt as if they were still clinging to the passion they experienced in the morning, trying to hold on to the last remnants. Midorima didn't dare try to do anything like stroking his thumb across Takao's hand; he was too afraid to do anything to disturb the peace they were maintaining.

But inside, Midorima knew it had to end at some point or another, just like how they had broke apart once they had reached Shuutoku.

Midorima wondered if there would ever be a day, where in the face of publicity and adversity, their hands would still be linked, and they wouldn't need to hide.

As he watched Takao enter the classroom ahead of him nonchalantly, not sparing Midorima a glance, Midorima seriously doubted this fantasy would ever become a reality.

* * *

...read and review lovelies heeheheh n_n


	23. 23

**a/n: **Hello lovelies. How have you all been? It's been nearly impossible to fit any writing time into my crazy ass life right now but I got a chapter out for you guys, sorry for the delay! Hope you enjoy some AoKi. :')

**disclaimer: **i dont own knb

* * *

It was an unusually sunny day that prompted Takao to leave the house that weekend. He could have very well stayed at home and spent time with Midorima, but instead, a glance out the window had compelled him to go find his new found advisor and friend.

"I'm going out!" He called as he slipped on his sneakers and zipped up his jacket at the front door. He was just about to leave the house when he heard Midorima approach him from behind.

"_Kyoutsukete_." Midorima said in a soft voice; Takao knew that he wasn't used to greeting and sending off his _friend_, but they were starting to get used to it, bit by bit. Takao grinned happily and stood closer to Midorima and tiptoed.

"I will." Takao said and quickly planted a kiss on Midorima's cheek before he bolted out the door. When he turned around to shut the door, he caught a glimpse of a blushing Midorima holding a hand to his cheek. Takao smirked uncontrollably and nearly skipped his way to the bus station. He got on his designated bus at the station and checked the directions to reassure himself that he was boarding the right one.

If Midorima knew that Takao was going to see Kise, Takao knew that he wouldn't get a pleasant reaction. It was best to keep silent.

The sun was slowly blocked out by drifting clouds and Takao laid his cheek on the cold glass, wishing that the bus driver would step on it.

He snapped back to attention when he heard his stop being announced over the robotic intercom and made his way to the door. Takao promptly hopped off the bus and stared up at the building that he had arrived at. It was a chic and glass-covered building that would have been gleaming if the sun decided to grace it.

Before he entered, Takao stood indecisively at the bottom of the stairs, wondering if he shouldn't have came. Sure, he needed some help, but Kise swum with a different crowd, and this could get awkward. Takao shook his head irritably and walked firmly up the stairs and entered the building. New friendships were not built on uneasiness and doubt.

* * *

_Snap!_

The pop of the flash no longer startled Takao as he continued to watch Kise pose for picture after picture. He and the photographer never ceased and seemed to never run out of energy. Takao stood in the shadows, out of the light, where he could safely observe without being noticed. Kise was dressed in slim khaki pants, some sort of V-neck (fashion never really interested Takao), and a snazzy hat nestled atop his golden locks. Takao had to admit that he was quite photogenic, though.

"Okay, keep it up!" The bearded man behind the camera called out.

Takao leaned against the wall and watched Kise stiffen without warning. Takao raised his eyebrows and wondered what had caused the strange lapse in his confidence. He followed Kise's train of sight, and saw that Aomine Daiki had also entered the dimly lit room. Takao recalled that the two were in a relationship, and hastily backed up even further into the dark. He suddenly felt incredibly intrusive.

He watched Aomine and Kise exchanged heated glances, and Takao could sense a change in Kise's expressions. It wasn't that he was turning provocative, but he suddenly exuded the aura of a lover yearning for their partner. Takao glanced around and could tell that the staff had noticed, but they had marked it off as a seemingly regular occurrence. Takao observed them for a long time, until the photographer announced that the shoot was over, and Kise exited towards the back.

He felt rather in awe of their comfortable aura around each other, and the obvious way they interacted with each other. Takao stuck his hands in his pockets and slipped out the side door, feeling satisfied even though he hadn't spoken to Kise. Takao felt that he had already got the answer to his questions, and now he just had to mull over them.

* * *

Kise flung the curtain of the change rom stall open, and stepped inside. He didn't bother to close it behind him, since he already knew what was going to happen next. This wasn't the first time that Aomine had visited him during a photo shoot, but it never failed to make him anticipated, hot, and bothered. The way Aomine's eyes bored into him as he struck pose after pose was seriously erotic and heated, and Kise was just glad that the staff had accepted it easily.

His pants felt as if they were about to burst at the seams, and when Aomine had finally entered the stall behind him and shut the curtain, he sighed a breath of relief.

"You're a naughty one. Thinking about me while you were working, huh?" Aomine murmured into his ear and Kise shivered.

"You're the one who comes to watch me work and gives me those creepy stares." Kise huffed.

"Did you really think I wouldn't come, with youu being all sexy in front of people that aren't _me_?" Aomine slid his hand around Kise's waist and found the button of his pants.

"Someone's hard." He laughed.

"Keep your voice down," Kise reddened, "Get these off me first. I can't ruin them."

"Gladly." Aomine gave his ear a rough lick before unbuttoning his pants and sliding down the zipper. Kise bit back a moan as he slid down the tight pants, while purposefully creating friction against his crotch.

"Stop it. Not yet." Kise huffed.

"That's not what your body is telling me." Aomine grinned.

* * *

The mirror placed oh-so conveniently in the stall gave Kise a clear view of everything that was being done to him. He was currently stripped down naked, flushing red, and being fucked from behind with only a red curtain separating him from the public. The fact that he could see Aomine's pleasured filled face through the mirror was giving him a great time.

"Eungh..." He moaned softly as Aomine's hand dipped down to pump him in time to the rhythm of his thrusts. The sensation of his prostate being struck again and again never got old, and the amazing sensations Aomine's length was creating inside of him nearly brought him to his knees. Kise was using the mirror to support his weight, and he prayed that his legs wouldn't give out.

"Do you hear that?" Aomine said.

"Hear... what...?" Kise gritted his teeth.

Aomine bent forward and whispered into his ear.

"The squelching noises that my cock is making with your ass, even though we're trying our best to stay quiet." Aomine smirked and Kise flushed even darker.

"Shut-" He was cut off hastily as Aomine continued to move his hips and reduce Kise into a pile of weak knees.

"So tight..." Aomine groaned and for a long time, there was only the sounds of bit back moans and wet lubricated noises. Kise knew that there really wasn't a need to keep quiet, since most of the staff left the change rooms alone, but the danger of the possibility of being caught turned them both on immensely.

"I can't..." Kise managed to say before his legs gave way under the pleasure. Aomine grabbed his hips to keep him up and lowered them both to the floor. Kise found himself sitting in Aomine's lap, length still buried within him. He tried not to look at the mirror, since he now had a full view of his own privates.

Aomine wrapped his hands underneath the crook of his leg joint and forced his legs open as wide as they could go.

"What are you doing?" Kise hissed under his breath.

"Giving myself a better view, of course." Aomine's lips curled into a devious smile and Kise cursed himself internally for getting off on stuff like this. He loved it but dared not to admit it. Aomine started to move again without warning and Kise marvelled at how much strength he had to thrust into him from below. The angle seemed to nestle his cock even deeper into Kise and he jerked back pleasure of being filled completely before giving in to the sensations.

He threw his head back against Aomine's shoulder and closed his eyes. Kise was sure that his expression was embarrassing as hell at the moment but the only thing he could focus on was the person filling him up to the brim from the outside and the inside, and he was also sure that he would be overflowing both metaphorically and physically anytime soon.

* * *

**aaaaaaaand **thats all for this time. dont forget to **read and review o3ob**


	24. 24

**A/N: **Hello darlings! Long time no see. Hope you have all been doing well... but if not, let's pray that this update lifts up your mood (if I may so have that honour)! Hang on tight because I'm taking a slightly different approach with this. Hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KnB

* * *

Takao opened his eyes to the new morning with bright and shining eyes. He bound out of bed with newfound energy. Questions, questions, questions. Takao had so many but he knew what he had to do now.

After seeing the natural way in which Aomine and Kise interacted, he gained respect for the couple, and their remarkable confidence. He wouldn't mull over questions anymore, or wonder about the future… because he had to enjoy what he had now with Midorima or he would regret it in the future.

Takao brushed his teeth as fast as he could and flew down the stairs to prepare lunch for Midorima and himself. It was the first time he made _bento_ since they had started to live together, since he usually found it too difficult to wake up early in the morning. They had usually gone to the cafeteria and bought food. However, he had a newfound determination this time.

When he handed the bento to Midorima as they were heading out to school, Takao hid his smile when he saw Midorima's stunned look.

"Oh… thanks," he muttered in a soft voice that was almost inaudible as he pushed his glasses up and looked away.

Takao grinned to himself. Midorima made him happy in a way that was hard to explain.

* * *

"Hey, you guys…"

Takao and Midorima looked up from their lunches. They were eating their lunches in the empty classroom; everyone had disappeared to visit their friends, and Midorima had stayed behind. Naturally, Takao had decided to tag along, despite the slightly awkward atmosphere. So much had occurred in the last week, and he had no idea how to act _normally _anymore. What was _normal_?

"How come you guys have the same _bento_?" A male classmate leaned over and laughed.

Takao stopped mid-chew and tossed a glance at Midorima. He had frozen as well, and Takao could see the gears turning rapidly in his brain.

"_Relax_"_, _he wanted to say to Midorima. He was bound to be overthinking the situation.

Takao set his chopsticks down onto the box and swallowed his bite.

"Oh. He's staying at my place for a while, so we have the same lunch," Takao said coolly.

"Eeeeh?" The boy said curiously, "Who made it? It looks pretty good."

Midorima pushed his glasses up and cleared his throat.

"Takao did."

"No way. It looks really good..." His expression grew thoughtful, "You know what this reminds me of, actually?"

Takao's heart began to thump harder. The direction this was going in was not good. He had to do something fast-

"It's like Takao is your girlfriend or something-" He began to laugh but stopped abruptly as Midorima stood up with an expression that was darker than black.

Takao tried to laugh it off but nothing came out of his mouth. His mind was in too much of turmoil to form a coherent noise. He raised his hand up and placed it on Midorima's shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"Shin-chan-" He started but Midorima whipped around and brushed his hand away roughly. Takao stepped back in shock.

"Disgusting," Midorima spat and stormed out of the room.

Takao tried his best not to leave his jaw hanging in the air. His chest felt like someone dropkicked him onto the floor, or punched him with brass knuckles. No, it wasn't quite the same. It was deeper than that, it was almost like someone stabbed him and left him breathless.

"Woah… talk about an overreaction," the boy whistled. There was a pause after this. Takao had no idea what to say.

"Well… I'm honestly not discriminating or anything," he put his hands behind his head and nudged Takao's foot playfully.

"Lighten up! That guy can be a real downer sometimes," he grinned.

Takao pursed his lips, "Tell me about it. Thanks, Kanazawa."

He shrugged and strolled away to give Takao some space.

After a few minutes of staring at a spot on the doorway, Takao jerked his gaze away to look at their abandoned lunches. He sat down stonily on the chair and picked up his chopsticks. He finished his lunch in silence, in burning shame and horror, and quickly tossed away Midorima's. He was sorely tempted to through the boxes away as well, so they wouldn't remind him of this horrible incident in the future.

"Huh," Takao huffed angrily, "Be that way."

He clanged the plastic box on the side of the trash can roughly multiple times, not caring if he broke it or not. If he broke it, maybe it would make him feel better. He sure felt broken inside, despite the fact that it wasn't a large incident at all in retrospect.

"Ugh…" Takao groaned under his breath, "What am I supposed to feel like right now?"

* * *

Girlfriend. _Girlfriend?_

Midorima threw a basketball angrily back into the bin. He had cowardly gone to the gym to shoot baskets in frustration. He had overreacted, definitely. He also wasn't sure why exactly he had felt that way, but he had pinpointed it at last.

Girlfriend.

That had riled him up. That was the wrong word to use, entirely. Takao and him were anything but… that. There was nothing remotely "_girlfriend"_ about their relationship-

Hold up. Midorima's jaw twitched in realization. What was this saying about his view about this relationship? Was he accepting that… it was homosexual? Midorima grabbed a basketball and turned it in his hands.

That wasn't entirely concrete either. It was like the basketball he was holding. Sure, it had a name: it was a basketball. But it wasn't _just _a basketball. It was a tool, a trophy, an object of attention, but when placed among other basketballs, it was irrelevant. It wasn't _just.._. a gay relationship. They had come together not because they were attracted specifically towards the same gender, that was for sure. They were attracted to _each other_, and even though different people could label them differently, the one thing that wouldn't change would be their attraction.

But if Midorima were to really point his finger and correct Kanazawa, he would have told him to use the word _boyfriend _instead.

Midorima hissed in frustration. He had to go back and explain himself, but he couldn't. His feet were rooted to the floor. Midorima hid in the darkness of the gymnasium and he sat on the cold floor crestfallenly. He couldn't do it.

* * *

"Hey. Captain…" Midorima started uneasily as he sat on the bench during practice. They were taking a short break.

"Yea?" Ootsubo said.

"…Can this be my first selfish act today?"

"...What is it?" Ootsubo grumbled into his towel.

"Let me ask you a question," Midorima turned to face him. He wasn't sure what kind of expression he was making but it must have been serious or embarrassing for Ootsubo to look at him that way.

"Shoot," Ootsubo crossed his arms. He was all business now.

He stared at the hem of his captain's uniform for two minutes before he mustered up the bravery to say anything.

"If… someone…" he said slowly, "were to enter a relationship… how would they let the public know… if they don't do romantic things in public… at all?"

He observed Ootsubo opening and closing his mouth several times, but he said nothing for several seconds. Midorima resisted the urge to look away, and maintained steady eye contact.

"So… this someone…" Ootsubo grunted, "Hold on. Why are you asking _me_ this?" He threw his hands up in frustration.

"I didn't know whom else to ask. You're my _senpai_…. So you should now more about this… area." Midorima shifted his position and his eyes strayed to Takao chatting amiably with Miyaji. He couldn't resist watching him.

Ootsubo shifted in his seat and leaned forward to look at something. He sat back and eyed Midorima suspiciously. Midorima knew that his cover was probably blown the moment he looked at Takao. He just hoped that Ootsubo wouldn't make it too embarrassing for him. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.

"I have an idea," Ootsubo said.

Midorima's eyes snapped open in surprise.

"Really?" He said a little too energetically, but it was too late to take it back.

"There's another girl waiting for you, by the gym door," Ootsubo put a hand on Midorima's shoulder, "This is what I want you to do. Go ask what she wants, and agree if she wants to talk to you in private."

He had a knowing look on his face and Midorima swallowed with difficulty. He knew that he probably had a dark frown on his face at this point but he had to know the point of this. He stood up and gave Ootsubo one last look before walking to the gym door, where a tall girl with long brown hair was waiting.

* * *

**Would you be so kind to honour me with a review? :'-) **_feed back on my writing motivates me to updateee 3_


	25. 25

**A/N: **hey guys! sorry I haven't updated in so long... been going through some rough times but I'm here again! And I got into University! *dances* Haha.

On another note, I got tumblr again... so if you ever wanted to talk to me anon or whatever... /nudges it's ** .com**

ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own KnB

* * *

"Midorima-kun… I like you."

This was the first time he had ever agreed to even talk one-on-one with someone who wished to confess to him. Confessing was such an embarrassing act for both the confessor and the receiving end. Since entering this high school, there were several girls that openly expressed their admiration but they usually dwindled down once they discovered his personality. He didn't know why this girl was confessing to him so far into the school year, but since Ootsubo told him to agree to talk to her…

She was facing him with a slightly red face and pursed lips. This was definitely a difficult moment for her, but Midorima had the strongest urge to just turn around and walk away from this matter. That would be far too rude though. He tilted his head back to look at the darkening purple sky and scanned it for glimmering dots that were stars. He found several and tried to form illusory shapes in his mind. The girl waited patiently as Midorima immersed himself in something else in order to calm his mind.

Come to think of it, Midorima could not imagine how much courage it must have taken for Takao to approach him that day in his bedroom… Midorima wasn't too much of a coward, but maybe he really was in terms of feelings.

The courtyard was silent but the leaves rustled harmoniously as a tired gust of wind swirled through the branches and danced among the twigs. Midorima felt his hair being blown about and he suddenly remembered what he was here for. What was the natural course of action here? He would definitely reject her, of course… and then what?

"I'm sorry," he said, and that was all she needed.

She gave him a rueful smile and scratched her head.

"Why?" Midorima felt his eyebrows drop into a near-glare as he scanned the girl's expression. She seemed to want to drag some sort of answer out of him. The _I'm Sorry _did not satisfy her.

The situation suddenly brought a question to his mind. What happened to that couple? He didn't even remember their names but they were Takao's friends… and Kise's. Midorima wondered if the girl had confessed or not.

"Well, because…" Midorima started but halted in realization. _This was it_. This was what Ootsubo wanted him to do.

"…" The girl continued to stare at him. He had to let her down gently. Midorima wasn't good at dealing with emotional females.

"Well, I… uh…" He pushed up his glasses and discovered that his mouth was not forming the proper words even though his mind had already formulated them.

"You're so bad at this, Midorima-kun! You reject a girl and don't tell her why…" she chided him in a mock-angry manner but he could see traces of tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. He couldn't help but panic a bit at the telltale signs of tears. No, he couldn't handle them. He had to get out, fast.

"I'm with someone else," he blurted out and felt his own eyes widening. He did it; he said it. He admitted it to someone other than himself. Midorima felt his blood pulsing wildly through his veins and he took a shaky breath.

"Is… she from our school…?" She said as if she were afraid of the answer.

Midorima stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor.

"Yeah. He is…." Midorima snapped his mouth shut and his eyes flashed back to the girl's. She was looking at him with incredulous eyes.

"_H-h-he-_" she began to stutter but Midorima quickly grabbed her wrist and placed her own hand on her mouth. He couldn't use his own, that was too much for him.

"Shhh!" He hissed. After the initial nerve-wracking moments, he found that he could now think about his relationship both objectively and subjectively.

She blushed and nodded.

A gym door creaked open and the two turned towards the source of the noise. Takao stood frozen, about a few feet away, with wide eyes. Midorima cursed to himself and quickly let go of the girl's wrist. He flashed a look at her and saw that she was looking back and forth from Midorima to Takao. Her mouth slowly opened and Midorima turned away to avoid her eyes.

"Hey. Ootsubo want's you back now," Takao's eyes were flashing perceptively and Midorima wanted to stalk over and shake his shoulders. He wanted to whisper into his ear, "its not what you think it is!"

But there was a big difference between wanting and being able to.

Why did Scorpios have to be such over thinkers?

* * *

After Takao had made his exit, the girl had vowed to keep his secret. She actually looked _elated _after discovering Midorima's relationship with Takao and didn't look as if she got rejected at all. In fact, she looked as if she had her feelings returned.

Is this what happens when you give a girl a piece of juicy gossip?

He silently berated himself. That was rude of him to think like that.

Midorima stepped back into the gym, feeling slightly chilly from the wind. He scanned the gym for Takao but he was nowhere in sight.

"Midorima-kun," Ootsubo approached him from behind, "did it work?"

Midorima turned slowly to face Ootsubo. His captain blinked several times at the sight of his expression.

"What's with that face?"

He took a deep breath through his nostrils and closed his eyes.

"Just as you planned. It'll probably be around the whole school population by 9:00 p.m."

His tone must have been sarcastic or unhappy, because Ootsubo's expression changed even further. It became gentler than Midorima had even seen it. Ootsubo grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him towards the change room. Midorima followed him bleakly and plopped down exhaustedly onto the bench as Ootsubo shut the door firmly behind them.

"What's wrong?" Ootsubo sat down on the bench opposite of his and crossed his arms in a non-threatening manner. Midorima's eye twitched as he took in the situation. Here he was, about to have a heart-to-heart chat with his captain. It was a situation that was completely uncalled for. He wrinkled his nose awkwardly.

"After what you'll soon find out eventually, you might not even stand to be in the same room as me," Midorima said.

Ootsubo stared at him with no expression.

"That is too cryptic. Stop speaking in riddles, Midorima-kun," his upperclassman said sternly.

Midorima slapped a palm over his face and nearly groaned out loud. He couldn't bear this anymore.

"I wasn't sure if coming out with that relationship was a good idea or not… but I had to do it at one point or another… and I can only hope that my partner stands strong with me… hand in hand as we face… challenges… but I messed it up a bit and I don't know what they're thinking right now," Midorima blurted out. The words bubbled up from his throat and he was unable to control them.

There was a pensive silence. Midorima guessed that Ootsubo was probably immersed in his own thoughts. He was shocked when Ootsubo stood up abruptly and walked towards Midorima.

"Midorima. Let me tell you this now. No matter what happens, we're a team. We'll stand by you, even if you are selfish," Ootsubo said bluntly.

Midorima hung his head. The words pierced through his chest, smarted, and burned. Would they really all support him? Really? His thoughts turned sarcastic and pessimistic.

"I can see your thoughts running in a downhill direction. But that is all I can say to you right now. I'm on your side, Midorima Shintarou," his captain slapped a hand on his shoulder and strode out of the room.

Midorima felt his palm still on his skin and felt comforted at the human contact. If he were to take anything Ootsubo said to heart, he would feel greatly comforted. But Midorima was hesitant, and the words didn't sink in entirely. He could still feel the fear.

But he did feel an ounce of comfort from his captain's truthful way of speaking. Midorima gritted his teeth, stood up, and pulled out his phone from his locker. He flipped through the messages to see if there was anything from Takao. He stopped at the sole message he had received from him.

All it said was that he had left practice early and wouldn't be home for dinner.

Midorima threw his phone back into his back and fell back onto the bench. He covered his face with his hands. He was so tired.

What now?

Exhaustion overcame him, from physical and mental burdens.


	26. 26

**A/N: **Oops. Did I even link the tumblr properly? Welp I don't think I did. My username is _**rosoie**_: feel free to chat me up if you have tumblr!

Here's a new chapter! It's sunny where I live... finally. Life feels gooood :') Hope you guys are all doing well!

* * *

"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly," Takao stuck a chip into his mouth and propped his feet up on the small wooden table.

Kise stood at the door and dimmed the lights of the small Karaoke room. They were in a rather high-end karaoke store, ready to sing their lungs out for an hour and a half before returning to their realities. That reality consisted mainly of homework but that wasn't what Takao was hiding from this time. Homework never was a problem for him in the first place.

"No problem. I don't have much to do today," he said perkily and plopped down on the couch. They sat there for several seconds in darkness and silence, and Takao felt comforted by the fact that Kise couldn't see the expression he was wearing at the moment. He sighed under his breath and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the table.

"Okay! I'll pick a song first and you can start selecting,"

Kise's energy was wearing Takao out slightly.

"Okay," he echoed. He tried to keep the lack of energy out of his voice. Kise looked sharply to Takao but quickly turned back to the television screen and selected a song. The instrumentals started to play and Kise proceeded to sing with vigor. Takao had to admit that Kise was a decent singer. Even if he wasn't on tune, he sang with a good and clear voice. That was the sort of thing that came with confidence, he supposed. He shifted to the end of the couch and began to scroll through the song selections. When the instrumentals cut to his song, Kise said nothing, and Takao followed his lead. He felt that Kise was granting him some reprieve.

When it was his turn, he closed his eyes and sang with all his heart. He emptied his lungs of the pent up emotion and Takao wondered if Kise could hear the emotion in his voice. He wondered if Kise could hear the piece of his soul that he was laying bare for him at the moment. Takao could sing well, pretty damn well, but it was even better today. He actually felt it deep inside him. He closed his eyes and let the instrumentals run through him and he nearly forgot to sing.

Something prickled behind his eyes and his voice quavered. Who knew that even after you confessed and made love, things could still be hard? Of course they would. Takao was just too jaded. He sat up straight and steeled himself. There was no point going in this in an overly dramatic fashion.

The song cut, and Takao set the microphone down just as Kise burst into a violent round of applause. He looked at the blonde and saw that his eyes were shining brilliantly.

"Has anyone told you that you're a _really_ good singer?" Kise exclaimed, "and that was really..."

Kise's face turned serious and grabbed the wireless remote to pause the next song.

"I'm not going to pretend that I know exactly what to do make you feel better, but I'll just be here. I'll be me, and that's why you called me, and not anyone else. I won't act like a counsellor, because that's not what you need."

Kise dumped a couple of chips into his mouth and crunched noisily on them.

"You're shockingly... Cool," Takao grinned.

Kise pulled a sour expression. "Do you think if I turned into a weepy mess and begged for you to spill your problems to me, it would make you feel better? I know when to pry and when not to." Kise shrugged, "Let's just keep singing, okay?"

Takao nodded thankfully and Kise continued the queue from the remote. An hour later, the chips and food were all gone and Takao had a tired throat. They were both vigorous singers and Kise was currently laying lazily on the couch as Takao sang a soft ballad. A shrill ringtone broke through their reverie and shocked them both out of their lethargic positions. Takao jumped and he next word he was about to sing was stuck in his throat. Kise flung upright and pulled out his phone in a smooth move.

"Hey!" Kise said into the phone. Takao observed him, and guessed that he was talking to Aomine, judging from the bit of blood that rushed to his cheeks and the bashful grin that had crept onto his face. He lowered the volume of the instrumentals and set the microphone down. He didn't really want to sing this song anyways. Takao sat back and crossed his arms, watching Kise.

'Oh, really? Are you sure? Uhuh... Okay. Jeez. Of course I do! I'm just...' Kise sighed and glanced at Takao apologetically and shrugged his shoulders. Takao could guess what was coming next.

"Okay. See you," Kise snapped the phone close and shoved it into his pocket.

"You have to go?" Takao asked.

Kise sighed, "Yeah, as much as I want to stay…" He scratched his head.

"It's fine!" Takao waved his hand and leaned back onto the couch, "I'll just use up the last thirty minutes. We're almost done here anyways."

"Yeah but…" Kise looked slightly worried.

"Just go. Don't make me say it again," Takao said and put on a devious grin, "I'm sure you'll have lots of fun tonight."

Kise coloured slightly and deflated a bit. "Okay, I guess I'll be going. I'll pay for half of the fee on my way out."

"Yeah. See you," Takao waved as Kise slipped out of the room with his school bag.

He was left alone in the room with softly playing music and pulsing purple lights. Takao glanced at the almost empty bowls of food on the table and felt a lonely ache in his chest. He needed to get out of here. But he still had thirty minutes left.

Takao quickly queued up five songs to sing and pressed play. It wasn't until he left when he discovered that Kise had paid for both of them.

* * *

Midorima sat at his desk with an empty and melancholic feeling. He had already finished his homework since he decided to put his brain energy into something productive. Now that it was done, his mind kept straying to Takao. Where was he? It was nearly dark outside and his phone was turned off. What would Midorima say to him when he came back?

He stretched and turned his chair around to look out the window. Maybe Takao would be hungry when he came back… Midorima stood up and shut off his desk lamp before heading to the kitchen. No matter. He would make dinner anyways. He would make it the most extravagant thing he had ever made.

Even though Midorima's mother insisted that Midorima didn't know how to cook, he discovered that he was somewhat adept. He found several recipes online but decided to imitate his own mother's cooking. He stir-fried several vegetables, made miso soup, rice, and a fruit salad. Lastly, he grilled fish and arranged it all on the dining table. It took him longer than expected and there were more dishes than he had anticipated, but it went without incident. Midorima double-checked that he had turned all the elements off and then proceeded for the dishes.

Midorima was surprised that he didn't detest any of the housework. It was strangely comforting to him at the moment. He sat himself at one end of the dining table where he could see the door. All the lights were off save for the one in the dining room, but he could still make out some light from the window beside the entrance. He couldn't bring himself to eat anything yet, and there were some nerves churning his stomach uncomfortably.

He didn't know how long he sat in silence with a pounding heart but he didn't dare check his watch. A watched pot never boiled, after all. His feet grew cold underneath the table and he suspected the food was too. It didn't really matter though.

A light outside the window clicked on, signaling motion near the entrance. Midorima sat up straighter and resisted the urge to bounce his leg up and down. The doorknob turned and emerged from the darkness. He flipped the light switch of the hallway and Midorima could see his face freeze for a second when he saw Midorima. Their eyes locked for several long excruciating seconds before he turned to ascend the stairs. For a good minute, Midorima felt a slightly crushing disappointment.

He heard him come down the stairs again, this time without his school bag. He pulled a chair out noisily and plopped down in it. It was the one right beside Midorima.

"_Itadakimasu_," he said politely and began to eat. Midorima followed his lead and tried some of his own food. He took some of the vegetables and placed them in his mouth. Midorima was confused for several moments.

_Did I really make this? _

He heard the crunch of the vegetables in the other boy's mouth and he stole a look at his face. He stilled though, seeing the expression he was wearing.

His face was scrunched up in a strange sort of agony and his eyes were growing red. Midorima had no idea what was going on until a single tear escaped his left eye. Midorima dropped his chopsticks and grabbed his face, wiping away the tear with his thumb.

He grimaced and sniffed. Another tear fell and Midorima wiped away that one too. He shifted in his chair to look at Midorima.

"Did you really make this?" He asked.

"Surprisingly, yes," Midorima muttered lowly before he leaned in and placed a kiss on Takao's lips.

* * *

I'm completely open (and want!) feedback! Review :') Hope you enjoyed.


	27. 27

**A/N: **hello hello! Thanks for all the lovely reviews! It has really given me great confidence in my writing (although I'm sure I have TONS of room to improve). (shoutout to rumovercoke who messages me on tumblr and makes me feel special!) Also, I can't reply to your reviews on my fic because I don't want to increase word count unnecessarily. I would if I could!

Here's the next chapter! Enjoy.

* * *

"Did you really make this?" Takao asked incredulously with his mouth half full. Midorima continued to chew through his mouthful and swallowed slowly.

"Do you not believe me?"

They were almost finished eating the dinner that Midorima had cooked up. Takao was shocked to walk into the house, expecting to find a dark and gloomy atmosphere when he came back. When he walked into the house, his heart almost stopped when he saw someone waiting for him. It was weird, but it gave him a strange comfort. Midorima cared about him. It wasn't entirely one-sided. That was all he needed to know at the moment. And when he saw the dinner laid out neatly on the table, a strange feeling crept into his heart. It made him feel safe, secure, and sound. It was subtle and quiet. Takao might have even missed it, but he caught it. As they sat at the table together eating in silence after the initial outburst, Takao's thoughts were running at a hundred miles an hour.

It wasn't love, right? Takao suspected that it was merely comfort. He didn't know whether he loved Midorima. He liked him, though. He liked him a lot. Love was just something intangible, and Takao was skeptical. Romantic love wasn't something that existed to him. Familial though, was familiar.

He stole a glance at Midorima eating serenely (as usual) and felt himself growing nervous. Where was this going to go?

Minutes passed, the bowls were cleared, and Takao offered to wash the dishes but Midorima had refused.

"Together. We'll do them together," he said curtly as he pushed up his glasses.

They fell into a routine of Takao washing, and Midorima rinsing. It was fully dark outside now, and the sound of the running water was eerily loud. As Takao ran a soapy sponge over one of the plates, he stared at Midorima's long and slender fingers. He had put a glove over his left hand though. He didn't know how long he spent admiring them until Midorima's hands stilled and Takao realized he was waiting for the next dish. He jolted and felt himself growing warm.

_What am I getting all hot and bothered for right now? This is wrong. We haven't even talked properly..._

He placed the dish into Midorima's waiting hands while avoiding eye contact. Midorima didn't initiate any conversation, so Takao said nothing as well. They often danced around in a circle like this, no one willing to break the chain.

Takao felt his hand reaching into the sink blindly as he absorbed himself in his thoughts, but shook himself out of it when he saw that there were no more plates to be washed. Midorima left the dishes in the dishwasher to dry, and Takao turned off the tap and wiped off the excess water. He felt jumpy and eager to get away from the source of his frustration.

There was a complete silence. Takao stuck his hands under his armpits to keep them from doing something he would regret. Midorima looked at him with a blank expression. His eyes were lidded, and Takao could see his eyelashes clearly. He didn't realize they were staring at each other until Midorima took a hesitant step forward. Takao stepped jerkily backed and turned away.

"I'm going to go take a shower!" He blurted and headed towards the hallway. Midorima grasped his wrist with a steel grip and Takao stilled. It seemed that a classic confrontation couldn't be avoided this time.

"I'll go with you," Midorima said. Takao blinked several times and saw Midorima doing his best to not avoid his eyes.

"Whaaat?" Takao let out a staccato laugh.

"Well... That's what... Couples do, right?" Takao stared at him, unsure of what to feel. Touched? Aroused? Happy?

With a swirl of emotions swimming in his belly, Takao nodded jerkily and started to make his way towards the bathroom. Midorima was still holding on to his wrist, following behind. His hold felt hot and unyielding.

He finally let go when they reached the bathroom. Takao felt shaky and nervous, but he didn't dare take a look backward. He peeled off his shirt and dropped his pants in a flurry and quickly made his way to the shower. He left his clothes in a pile behind him. He could hear Midorima behind him undressing himself as well. The very sound of that alone made his lower half hot.

He turned the tap on roughly and the initial jet of freezing water made him jump.

"Aughhhhhh, shit," he spat but relaxed when the warm water streamed out.

He tilted his head back and wet his hair. He was aware of Midorima watching him from behind. This time, he knew it was going to happen. Takao couldn't help but wonder what his own ass looked like to his boyfriend.

A body pressed up against his and he jerked at the contact. It felt a million times hotter than the water. They were now both slick from the water.

"So..." Midorima's voice was dangerously low. Takao shivered at the low rumble.

"Where did you go today?" This time, his mouth was right beside his ear. Was he doing this on purpose? Midorima didn't seem the type to know seduction inside out, so Takao guessed that he was doing this unwittingly. This fact did nothing to calm him down though.

"Karaoke..." Takao mumbled, "...with Kise."

Midorima made a sound at the back of his throat and lowered his head down to Takao's neck. Takao's breathing grew rapid. He was breathing through his mouth in large breaths. The water pouring around him was making it hard.

"I told that girl..." Midorima stopped for a second and continued, "that I was in a relationship."

Takao stiffened and Midorima sensed it.

"Is that...okay?" Takao had never heard Midorima so unsure of himself before. It moved him slightly.

"Of course it is, idiot."

"...good." Takao wanted to cover his face at how pleased Midorima sounded but there was suddenly the sensation of a tongue against his neck and he lost the ability to do anything. A hot and wet muscle running along his neck and shoulder made him freeze in pleasure and shock. He tried to make himself pull the emotion of happiness from his brain at Midorima's statement but pleasure drowned it out.

Takao made a soft sound in his throat and felt himself tipping forward. He leaned himself on the tiled wall clumsily and found purchase on the ledge. Midorima shifted forward and brought his hands around to place them on the patch of skin above his privates. He rested them there casually, and Takao wished he would do _something_. The tension in his body was threatening to burst.

He was about to turn his body around when Midorima brought a hand slick with soap to his sides and began lathering Takao's body.

Takao wanted to jump into a hole at this point. He had a growing erection and he didn't know if Midorima had intended for this to happen, or if Takao was just an idiotic clueless idiot. Midorima had turned off the showerhead and was running his soapy hands over Takao's midsection. He had removed the tape on his left hand and Takao shivered when a finger brushed over his right nipple.

His hands traveled to his back, running smoothly up, around his shoulders, and then back down again. They went teasingly low, not touching his ass, but nearly. Suddenly, they were at his thighs. Midorima's hands kneaded his skin softly while lathering it soap, and if Takao weren't so turned on at this point, he would have thought that it felt really comfortable. Every touch was making his lower half burn like a wildfire. They finally reached his ass and all Takao could think of was how much he wanted him to-

_Shitshitshit, I've turned into a lusty monster_-

Takao must have made some sort of needy sound at this point, and Midorima responded by grabbing his ass and slowly kneading it.

"Shit-" Takao whispered under his breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Midorima pried his cheeks apart slightly and rubbed his finger around Takao's opening. His finger was a bit clumsy, but it aroused Takao nonetheless. He rubbed the ring of muscle gently before dipping in slightly.

"I don't really know what I'm doing…" Midorima muttered from behind and Takao hissed.

"Just keep going, you're doing fine…" he breathed heavily.

Midorima continued to insert a finger and rub his insides. Takao bit his lip at the intrusion but it gave way to need. He got the strange feeling of needing something larger inside of him.

"Ungh…" Takao groaned lowly when Midorima slowly inserted a second finger. Several minutes passed, and Takao felt his body growing hotter even the water on his skin was growing cold. He kept going though, and the coil grew tighter and tighter. Takao hissed and grasped his own length in desperate need. Midorima swatted it away with his free hand and slowly ran his fingers along the tip.

"Just let me do it…" Takao groaned in desperation.

"No," Midorima said curtly.

He never increased his speed and kept Takao on the brink for another minute or two. His breath grew harsh and came out in pants.

"Just… let me… come…!" Takao gritted his teeth.

The need was wracking his body with so much pain and pleasure he felt like he was ripping apart. Being kept on the edge was something he wasn't used to. Takao felt like writhing and he felt his legs shaking and quivering.

Midorima increased the speed of his fingers and finally, oh god finally, Takao felt himself going over. He closed his eyes and shuddered, and when he opened them, his release had already gone down the drain. Midorima had opened the showerhead again to wash off the soap. Takao regained his footing and turned to look at Midorima. His face was slightly red and he wasn't wearing his glasses. His green hair was plastered to his forehead in a not-unattractive way. Droplets of water streamed down his toned body and Takao bit his lip again.

This was a new thing for him, the feeling of finding another man's body attractive. He didn't hate it, but it was unfamiliar. He took a brave step forward and let his arms go around Midorima. Their bodies were pressed up against each other under the hot jet of the water. Takao tilted his head back and saw Midorima's face closing in through the steam and water. His lips landed on his cheek at first and Takao laughed.

"I don't have my glasses on. This sucks," Midorima grumbled.

"It's okay, I'm here," Takao said and grabbed Midorima's head and kissed him fully on the lips.

* * *

(((whispers we're near the end. want to toss me a review?))))


	28. 28

**a/n: **helloooooo! How are you all? I'm back with another chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

p.s. yes... I am ending this fic... sooon... be prepared... ;v;; i wasn't joking

**disclaimer: **I don't own KnB

* * *

Takao rolled onto his side and snuck a peek at Midorima beside him. They were lying under the same blanket, comfortably sharing the same warmth. The light white curtains were drawn, shielding them from the pitch-black dark of the outside world. It was a light and flimsy shield though, since it was still see-through.

Both boys were noticeably tired after their explorations in the bathroom. They had ended up in the same bed naturally- a habit that had sprouted from Takao's insomnia. They weren't touching, but Takao could feel Midorima's warmth close by. It was uncomfortable now, sleeping with that warmth beside him but it wasn't close enough. He was doing his best not to shift around in his restlessness.

_Are you awake?_ He was tempted to say the words out loud, but he was afraid they would wake Midorima up, if he were asleep. Takao swallowed and realized he had lifted his hand up without knowing it. He looked at it and back at Midorima's figure.

With his heart beating loudly in his chest, Takao soft brushed his fingers tentatively across Midorima's cheekbone. When there was no reaction, he grew slightly more confident. His index finger softly ran across Midorima's eyelashes, and Takao froze for a minute. Did he dare?

Those lips were taunting him, so usually firm in their resolve but soft and smooth in their sleep.

There was a sudden movement and Takao felt his wrist being gripped strongly. Midorima's eyes were open, and boring through him with a strong expression.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he felt his heart beating faster.

"Yea?" Midorima said throatily.

Takao felt like hitting himself. He was such a coward sometimes when it came to matters of the heart. Takao always had to look at the situation objectively in order to come to a rational decision. It was a pity though, since his objective self was cruel, harsh, determined, and brutally honest. His subjective self though, was a simpering idiot that rarely showed itself. In a situation like this, his subjective self was screaming at him to stop. It was holding him back, but he was glad this time. It was keeping him from launching himself at Midorima.

Now, if he looked at Midorima in the same way he looked at himself, the boy's subjective self was what Takao loved-that was too strong of a word- liked a lot. He was gentle in all the ways that filled up the gaps where he was harsh. His thoughtfulness crept through his irritated front in the least expected moments. His harsh nature often gave way to the most gentle and caring moments.

Deep down, he knew Midorima was a better person than himself.

What was he even doing? Did he deserve love from someone like Midorima?

"What are you thinking?" He said lazily, "If you don't answer me, I'm going to do something inappropriate."

Takao felt his mouth hang open and he just stared at Midorima blankly. His thoughts were momentarily occupied by inappropriate thoughts.

"It's... nothing," he grumbled (mostly at himself) and turned over noisily as if he were trying to make a point.

"Do you..."

Takao stayed perfectly still.

There was some loud shifting and he suddenly found himself locked in a strange embrace. Midorima's body was up against his, and one of his arms looped around his waist lightly. He could feel his warmth radiating through his thin nightclothes and the soft touches of his fingers. They had crept under the hem of his shirt and has began playing with the bare skin beneath it.

It was hard to believe that this boy gently holding him was the very same boy who had given him a concussion in a fit of embarrassment. It was even harder to believe that this was Midorima Shintarou at times. But Takao knew that it was him. It was just another side of him. The side that he... really liked.

He could hear Midorima's slow breath next to his ear and he pressed back against his body. Takao's hair prickled on his neck and he tried to keep his own breathing under control.

"I'll never fall asleep like this," Takao muttered lowly.

He turned around to face Midorima. His arm didn't move from his waist. Instead, Midorima shifted even closer. Their faces were a mere inch away from each other. Takao didn't dare to breathe. He could feel the hand on his hip like it was a scorching iron resting millimeters away from his skin.

He didn't smell Midorima's scent that much lately. But he knew it was because he was drowned in it. He didn't smell it because he'd been exposed to it for so long, and he probably even smelled like it too. Takao wondered if that was a form of marking your territory. He almost snorted at that. An image of a dog peeing on a tree bubbled up into his mind.

"Then don't," Midorima said.

He softly brushed his lips against Takao's and drew away. From the light outside, he could still make out Midorima's face in the darkness. Takao brought his arm up and slung it over Midorima's torso. He could feel the heat emanating off his broad back.

"Mm... School tomorrow though..." Takao mumbled into his chest.

He fell asleep to the feeling of Midorima's fingers stroking his hair lightly. He vaguely remembered him saying,

"Don't worry."

And when he woke up, Takao remembered the painful memory of Midorima comforting him. As if he actually knew the limits of Takao's strength. As if he knew that Takao was actually feeling weak and vulnerable. Him, the one usually steely and unforgiving, was weak.

* * *

He knew that when they came to school, the inevitable would eat up at their happiness. He just prayed that Takao wouldn't lash out at anyone. Midorima sat in his first class, drumming his fingers on the desk, unable to concentrate. What was Takao doing now? How was he reacting to the stares? The unsubtle mutters and jabs? Or the ones who supported them, how would he react to those?

He wished they were together right now, so they could face it together. So he could protect him and deflect the sharp remarks.

The urge to _protect _was so unfamiliar to him, but it was growing stronger and stronger.

Midorima always had a glare on his face, so nobody shrank back from him today. As for Takao though… he knew that he could get _nasty_. When class finally ended, he found himself the first to stand up. He felt a few stares burning through his back as he left.

"_I can't believe it,_" was the most common one, he decided. That wasn't so bad.

The worst? "_I feel sorry for his parents._"

That one hit a little too close to home.

Midorima didn't care what others thought. He wasn't one to disappoint his elders, though.

He made a sour expression at everyone who passed him in the halls (as usual) and sped his way down the hall to Takao's last class. He didn't care if they would talk about it. Midorima flung the door open and scanned the classroom. It was silent for a minute and many faces turned to look at him, but none of them was the one he was looking for.

He turned around and nearly crashed into Ootsubo standing behind him expectantly.

"Are you looking for Takao? He went to look for you too-" Midorima didn't wait for him to finish his sentence and began to speed walk the way back to his classroom.

"Hey! Idiot! Wait!" Ootsubo called after him.

"This is my selfish act of the day," he hollered.

There was no one waiting in front of the door when he returned. He paused to compose himself before he went back in to grab his stuff. The door slid open roughly and he almost crashed into some one in front of him.

"Watch where you're-"

Takao's glare transformed into a blank slate when he saw Midorima. The two stood there for a few seconds before Midorima unfroze and gave him a small grin.

"Hey."

Takao blinked a few times.

"Hey," he smiled.

* * *

**read and review! **(begs)


	29. 29

**Author's Note: **It's been a really long journey for me to get here... This is my first decent-length story that I've even remotely come close to finishing... and I'm _so _glad I stuck it out. I met soo many amazing readers and I've learnt a lot about writing and myself. It's been a great 6~7 months with this fic.

It's not my greatest, I'll admit. I could do better, but this has been a serious learning experience for me. And **you guys, the readers** have given me such valuable feedback that I will take with me _forever_. (**this is not the last chapter!**)

**Shout-outs: WOW I TYPED THIS WHOLE GIGANTIC PARAGRAPH  
**but the html screwed up so let's try this AGAIN.

**Fantita, Majstro, walk in the moon, mello-the-melon, sparkxs29, eponinerin, rose-maxarebadass, monmon, rumovercoke, kaoriocha, aschidnosekai, angelicgoddess101,** to name a couple of my recurring reviewers... Thank you so much. I know reviewing isn't the easiest thing in the world but you guys have made my world. Haha. Honestly.

Also the people who have written those huge long reviews about how I made your day or how much you love the fic... You have made a lot of my shit days really bright. I sometimes look back on your reviews to make me feel better... and to make myself write. Thank you so much for everything you've given me. Feedback, hope, and happiness.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.

* * *

Takao seriously wished he was taller.

The top of the blackboard was going to clean itself, but Takao was straining himself to reach it. He wasn't short. The blackboard was just extremely large. The teacher seemed to have picked the largest one for him to clean for detention.

He snuck a peek at the courtyard outside. The sun was setting, and practice was probably starting. Takao felt a sharp guilt for not being able to get there on time, and he started to clean a little faster. He probably had to wring out his cloth soon, since it was leaving dirty white streaks on the places he wiped. Takao bent down and dunked the poor and abused cloth into the water and started to wash it of chalk residue.

"Seriously..." Takao hissed under his breath. He didn't want to go to practice but he wanted to go to. He didn't want to hurry this task up, but at the same time he did. He didn't want to face the strange looks from his team members but he wanted to see them nonetheless.

He wrung the water out, but left it a little damp for cleaning purposes. Takao straightened up and sensed another presence in the room. He turned around and felt his hair prickle up in surprise when he saw a glowering six-foot-five tower watching him carefully- or no, was it cautiously?

"What are you doing here?"

Midorima walked past him and grabbed one of the spare cloths that Takao had brought along with the bucket full of water and began to soak it.

"What did you do this time to get this punishment?"

"Don't answer a question with a question," Takao said sourly and turned his back to Midorima. He continued to clean the board with a little more force than necessary.

Midorima joined him, cleaning the right side of the board. The pair proceeded in silence, occasionally going to the bucket to wash out their clothes. Takao supposed that he should be touched that Midorima was here bearing the weight of his detention together with him. He knew that this was an act of kindness, but he still felt a deep irritation.

_Just leave me alone! _

He would be a coward if he said that. He would just be running away from the path that he forced himself upon. But Takao didn't have the stomach to face Midorima full-on. Not after what happened in the afternoon-

He made a disgusted face at the board.

"I got into a fight," Takao finally explained.

"Thought it'd be something like that."

"Shut up," Takao growled and moved to the second blackboard.

Midorima trailed behind him.

"What happened?"

"Why are _you_ being the nosy one, Shin-chan?" Takao gave a dangerous smile.

Midorima gave him a side glance and pulled the corners of his mouth down in a small frown.

"I'm worried about you. Is that a bad thing? I'm your boyfriend after all," Midorima said nonchalantly. He extended his free hand and gave Takao a small pinch on his cheek before returning to his task.

Takao stared at him in bemusement.

"Are you ready to tell me yet? Or-"

He was cut off as Takao reached up and grabbed his face and turned it towards himself. Takao reached up on his toes and planted a light kiss on Midorima's lips. He withdrew and gave a shy smile, different from his previous one. He was about to turn away when Midorima wrapped his arms around him and locked him in a tight embrace.

He took a second to react, before automatically reaching around and place his hands on Midorima's back.

He suddenly remembered their first meeting, and how he vowed to make Midorima recognize him. And how he had forced _Shin-chan _upon him. All the games they played together, all the frustrating moments they went together, and all the victories. This was better when they won any game. This was way better than the joy they felt from winning a game.

This wasn't a basketball game. They weren't trying to shoot baskets or score points. It was an hike, and they were going to _go places_. They would go on a journey, see new things, and it would be the best trip that they would ever have.

"They were talking about you... and I couldn't help myself," Takao finally said.

"Idiot," Midorima said softly, "you don't have to worry about those kinds of things."

_They're like the bears, right? They can stomp around on all the twigs, make noises that scare the shit out of us, but if we don't do anything to them, they won't do anything to us._

_As long as we don't hang food right in front of their faces, though._

"I'll try to stop myself...next time."

They withdrew but the lingering feeling of the embrace enveloped them with longing.

* * *

"Sorry we're late," Takao called as they stepped into the gym. The team turned their attention towards the two and Takao's skin started to prickle again.

_I can't stand this. I don't know if I can bear this_. He looked cautiously at Midorima but he didn't seemed to be as unperturbed as Takao.

"A hundred push-ups for you Takao! It's probably you're fault that you're late right?" Ootsubo called from across the gym.

"Why would you assume that? Shin-chan's the troublemaker here," Takao joked and crossed his arms. Ootsubo approached them and slapped Takao on the back.

"Fine. Make it fifty, and quick. We have to start soon."

The gameplay went smoother than Takao had imagined. When they were on the court, their situations were temporarily forgotten and the team just saw each other as teammates. Someone to rely on.

Afterwards was another story.

Everyone seemed to be in an awkward state as they changed in the changing room, and it made Takao want to jump into a hole and never come out. It was embarrassing as hell and it killed his pride and burned it to ashes. He didn't know what to do. Miyaji was acting nonchalant, where as Kimura had an uncomfortable look pasted onto his face.

"Okay, listen up guys," Takao blurted and turned to all the boys.

"Do I look like I'm going to jump you? Stop looking like you're going to get groped any second now!" Takao said crossly and walked over to Midorima.

"This is the only guy I'll grope, _ever_," Takao nearly shouted and gave Midorima's ass a squeeze.

"Hey, what the hell!" Midorima yelped in surprise and swatted his hand away.

They twittered with laughter despite the weird situation and Takao felt a bit better. Ootsubo spoke up first, though.

"You know that cousin of mine I told you about?" He said seriously.

The boys quieted down and turned to fix their gazes upon their captain.

"He's- no. My cousin..." He automatically corrected himself, "is transgendered."

"And you might think it doesn't make a difference objectively," Ootsubo expounded, "but... my perception of my cousin changed dramatically."

"I couldn't help it, you know. I've never been exposed to this kind of thing... and some unintentional hostility came about... but..."

It seemed to be one of the few times he was having difficulty to express himself.

"It's the same thing here. You wonder, am I supposed to act differently? Should I be self-conscious now? No. I made that mistake with my cousin, and we didn't have a great time living with each other because of my attitude. I blamed it on his bad habits, but I was at fault the entire time," Ootsubo confessed.

"So I don't want to see the same things happening here," he lowered his voice and he had captured the attention of every single one of them.

"Just be yourself. Takao and Midorima will deal with their personal issues themselves and you will not be impacted unless you create it inside of your head," Ootsubo said.

"I'm not sure if I can do it immediately," Kimura said to Takao's surprise, "but I'm going to do my best. And I hope you can forgive me beforehand... because I'm going to be honest. I can't change in the blink of an eye, but I promise I'll do.. all I can do..." He trailed off.

Takao stared at the floor.

"I... don't know what to say."

Ootsubo grunted.

"I did tell Midorima that we were a team, and a team sticks up for each other. I will personally accept you unconditionally, if no one else does."

* * *

As the two sat down for a dinner (that they cooked together), Takao felt like he was going to jump out of his skin any moment. His heart beat faster than normal and his breathing was slightly laboured. His brain was obviously going into hyper-aware mode.

He watched Midorima carefully, waiting for a moment to speak up. He didn't look up once was he said his _itadakimasu _and began to eat. Takao looked down at his own plate and wondered if he had always been this cowardly. Midorima made him discover the worst inside of himself.

"I like you."

Midorima twitched and paused in his eating before looking up slowly.

"I like you, a lot," he said with flushed cheeks, "and it's pretty damn unconditional. But I don't know if it's _love_. Because I don't really believe in _love_. But if we can make this last, I just might believe in it."

Midorima continued to stare at him silently, so he continued.

"And if you can show me, or maybe prove to me... no. Maybe you don't believe in love as well. But... I just..." He took a pause.

"You've shown me things about myself that I would have never discovered before, and I..."

"Let's stick through it all, okay?" Takao tried to blink away the tears that started to prick behind his eyes, "Even if it's hard... even if you feel like quitting... don't leave me without giving me an explanation, okay?"

He suddenly wished he was on the other side of the table so that he could wrap Midorima's arms around himself.

But suddenly Midorima had moved to _his _side of the table, and he took Takao's hand into his own.

"I won't let go, I promise. Either we let go together, or one of us will hold on tightly until the other gives in," Midorima said gently.

Takao nodded, trying to blink the tears away, until he saw Midorima's face. He looked as if he were as close to tears as that time they lost against Seirin.

He squeezed Midorima's hand tightly and didn't let go.

* * *

/wipes a single tear

Please review!


	30. END

**Author's Note/Farewell: **Well, that was fast... I can't believe I finished this already! If you're wondering why I've been updating like crazy lately, it's because I have a lot of free time this week.

This is the end! I can scarcely stomach it. This is the first multi-chaptered story that I have ever finished writing in my entire life. For those of you who asked me how I wrote/planned this, please brace yourself. I did some initial planning back in October, but that planning only lasted about 3 chapters and I just went with the flow after that. I just started with a blank document and just laid out all the ideas swimming in my head. Usually around 3am when I was practically half asleep.

I know I wrote this with really bad methods, and I know that I'm _not _the greatest plot writer... but I kind of aimed for this story to be slice-of-life, and to the Guest who told me that they felt the story quality went down from chapters 25-End, I'm sorry! You are probably right... I'm just not great at plot making unless I work really hard on it! Thank you for your feedback.

**Majstro**: Sorry I made you choke on your california roll. I'm touched that I even moved you a little bit.

**stephyduck: **Thank you sososososo much TvT I'm so glad I hooked someone onto TakaMido!

**Rose-MaxareBadass: **darling I will be sure not to disappoint you in the future. You've stuck with me for so long, and I'm so thankful for it! LOVE YOU.

**Fantita: **Sweetie pie, thanks for reading my fic till the very end and always reviewing.

**CMHerrera: **I seriously cant thank you enough for your amazing support (sobs)

**rumovercoke: **Yes! Fellow Scorpios unite. I felt that sharing the same sign as Takao really helped me write this fic because I can understand him really well! I'm glad I had the privilege of breathing life into these characters! You're so welcome. I'm looking forward to reading your stuff in the future.

**aschidnosekai**: thanks for your support! (hugs)

**Drunken Strawberries: **hope I make your day again today :-) It's been great reading your feedback!

**Neevey:** Thank you! I hope this one will be better.

and YES. I read every single one of your reviews even if I don't reply. So... Hehe. Yeah.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kuroko no Basuke.

* * *

_Two Years Later…_

"Mom! We're leaving," Midorima called out as they both slipped on their shoes at the doorway. Takao and Midorima were both dressed in casual clothing, and the weather was warm enough to permit a light jacket instead of a heavy one. There were light clouds over head, allowing the sunshine to seep through. Paired with the cherry blossoms that had emerged in time for graduation, the sight was practically picture perfect. Takao wanted to jump on his bike and go for a ride to somewhere far so he could admire the trees for as long as he wanted. He silently made a vow to do it before the petals fell to the ground.

"Stay safe, okay?" His mother called from the living room and Takao couldn't help but grimace thinking about the lunch they just had. It was worse before, when Takao's dad first treated him with a forced indifference but he knew that…

Takao shook his head. It was giving him headaches thinking about it.

Their families rarely ever met and when his mother saw Midorima's mother at the supermarket, it was always a warm exchange. He didn't think it could ever change from that, and he was okay with that. He didn't expect the two mothers of a gay couple to become best friends, after all.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Takao bowed.

"Why are you being so formal all of a sudden?" His mother waved her hand dismissingly, "Haven't I told you this plenty of times?"

"Ah, haha… yeah…" Takao laughed hollowly. Maybe it was because he knew that this could be the last time he would see her in a long time, but he felt rather sad at having to leave. The house too, had so many memories that Takao liked to reminisce about.

_But live moves on,_ he reminded himself.

On their walk to the health store, Takao had convinced Midorima to let him borrow his bike. He rode slowly along the path as Midorima kept up with his own pace. The streets were rather bustling due to the nice weather and Takao lifted his head occasionally to admire the combination of the blossoms and the sunshine.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Takao muttered.

"You see this every year…don't you?" Midorima said.

"So?" Takao retorted and pedaled a little faster, forcing Midorima to speed up his walking pace. He didn't complain though, because then he'd be the first to give in.

"Ahhh… I wish I brought my camera," Takao complained.

"Is that more important, or is our destination?" Midorima asked.

Takao screeched to a stop and looked at Midorima with a hard stare.

"What?" Midorima said.

Takao swung his left leg back onto the ground and began to walk. Midorima looked confused for a few seconds before he followed.

"What if I said… I'm just happy that we're looking at such a beautiful thing together?"

Takao tilted his head back to look at the trees again.

"And that you being here makes it a lot more beautiful… forget it. This is really corny but-"

Midorima had stepped in front of him and grabbed his chin and tilted it down.

"Scorpios are so…" He muttered as he leaned closer.

"So… what?" Takao asked curiously, "and you know there are people watching…right…"

"You're so romantic," Midorima said without blushing.

Takao's heart gave a double flip but he didn't get a chance to recover. Midorima planted a firm kiss onto his lips and Takao couldn't help but respond. He opened his mouth to the caress and nearly protested when Midorima quickly pulled away.

"Well… you can be, too…" Takao tried not to turn embarrassed.

"Come on, let's go," Midorima turned back to the road as if nothing had happened.

* * *

"Welcome! Oh. It's just you two," Shiori stood up from the counter and immediately started to rummage in her special cabinet.

"What? So we aren't welcome?" Takao quipped.

"No, you're not. You _belong _here," she drawled, "good enough?"

"Wow. So we've progressed to informal speech, have we?" Takao noted her usage of language.

"Of course! We've known each other for this long!" She made a dramatic hair tossing motion even though her hair was already cut into a short bob.

Midorima made a small noise through his nose beside him and Takao rolled his eyes.

"So…" Shiori wrung her fingers together for a second, "how are you guys doing by the way?"

The way she asked the question wasn't just in a conversational manner. Takao frowned and looked at Midorima. He didn't have any sort of expression on.

"Uh… yeah… we're fine… why?" Takao asked.

"It's almost time for the graduation ceremony, isn't it?" She looked rather nervous.

"Yup," Takao shrugged, "Where are you headed off next year?"

"Kyoto, pharmacy," Shiori said.

"Wow, _Kyodai_? Good job," Takao said admiringly.

"Oh, it's not…" She started when the staff room door opened. Kei stepped out and stopped at the sight of Midorima and Takao.

"Ah- It's you," He said to Midorima.

"Him?" Takao said dumbfoundedly and shot a glance at Shiori. She shrugged in response.

Kei walked behind the counter and grabbed the paper bag in Shiori's hand. She tried to grab it but he lifted it up high enough so that she couldn't reach it.

"Idiot! Give it back to me!" She flushed.

"Here you go," he threw it to Midorima, ignoring Shiori.

"Free of charge this time," Kei said before he locked Shiori in a tight embrace from behind.

"W-what are you doing? Did you do something to the bag?" She said, flustered, "I mean, I was going to give it to them for free anyways but you better have not messed with anything or you're going to-"

He gave them a bored look as he placed a hand over her mouth and muffled her protests.

"Just go," He jerked his head to the door.

"Thanks," Takao said, trying his best not go laugh.

As they left the store, he heard Shiori's voice.

"What do you think you're doing?" She yelled.

Takao chuckled and looked at Midorima.

"Just put the bag in the basket," he said. Midorima complied silently, but his fingers lingered on the paper for a second. Takao narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"I'll push the bike," Midorima said.

"Ha?" Takao said incredulously, "Seriously?"

"Why? Is it surprising that I would do something for you?" Midorima forcefully grabbed the bike from the other side and Takao raised his hands up and raised his eyebrows.

"_Suspicious_," Takao pursed his lips.

"Suspecting Scorpio," Midorima said and started to walk ahead.

"Conniving Cancer," Takao stuck out his tongue and crossed his hands.

"Cancer's aren't conniving, idiot," Midorima retorted, "You sure you aren't talking about yourself?"

"Hmph," Takao snorted and tried to grab the bike but Midorima swung it out of the way.

"Nu-uh."

"Jerk," Takao laughed and planted himself precariously on the seat instead. Midorima nearly lost control of the bike and Takao gave him a childish grin.

"Come on, push," He swung his leg over so he was sitting properly, "I always pull, so it's your turn to push."

Midorima tilted his head at him for a few seconds.

"That makes sense in more ways than one," Midorima nodded to himself.

"Hmm… Really?" Takao shrugged, "Hey, what do you think about going to the arcade?"

"…Not my thing," Midorima pushed his glasses up and started to push the bicycle with Takao sitting on it.

"That's not what you said on your birthday. We were playing Bishi-Bashi like madmen! And you even said we should go again because it trains our biceps!" Takao groaned.

"Why are you putting words into my mouth? _You're _the one who said that," Midorima glared at him but Takao could see him making an effort not to grin.

"Okay, whatever. That was me. Can we just go?"

* * *

"Wow… this crowd is huge," Takao exclaimed, "the players must be good."

They had gone to the nearest arcade, and the hot air and male sweat in the air made Takao want to choke but he had to stick through it. The games were worth it. He was currently trying to fight his way through the crowd to see who on earth was playing on _their _machine. Well, it wasn't there. But Midorima and Takao were _really _good at it, so he called it theirs.

He almost got close enough to see the players when a skinny teenager wearing hipster glasses and a straw hat turned to see who had shoved him. Takao tried to look away, trying not to look like the guilty party. He couldn't help it that he was unconsciously rude to strangers.

"Where do you think you're shoving? Gross," the glasses boy curled his lip at Takao.

_Tch, this idiot…_ He couldn't wipe the nasty look on his face off and he turned his glare to the boy. Hipster boy startled a bit at the look on Takao's face. He had that effect sometimes. He tried to turn it into a friendly smile but he knew that it was probably even scarier than his frown.

"What did you just say?"

Hipster boy stuck out his arms and gave Takao a rough push, causing him to crash into someone behind him. He spun around to apologize, but stopped when he realized who it was. Midorima placed a hand on Takao's head and spun him back around to face the boy.

"Get lost," Midorima glowered ferociously.

The boy stared up at Midorima, intimidated by his height for a second before regaining his composure. The crowd began to dissipate and he looked as if were ready to do something violent. Takao's heart began to beat wildly and was about to take a challenging step forward when Midorima blocked him with his body.

"Don't," Midorima said.

"_Tch_.." Takao hissed. He was mad at Midorima for knowing him too well. But after a second, the boy left and Takao stared at the floor.

He hated being so immature sometimes.

Takao felt something grab his hand, and realized it was Midorima. He was holding it in a discreet way, but it made Takao nervous nonetheless.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Let's go," was all Midorima said. He let go of Takao's hand and made his way to the bright yellow machine with its gigantic screen.

"Ah," Takao stopped and pointed at the two boys who had just finished playing and were gathering their belongings off the floor.

"Kise!" Takao called and sidestepped past Midorima.

He grinned as he felt Midorima's glare shoot daggers at them. It egged him on even further. He slung his arm around the taller boy's shoulder and flashed a smile at Aomine, who was standing beside him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I remembered your text from two days ago and decided to give the game a shot!" Kise said.

"It's a pretty dumb game," Aomine said.

"That's not what you looked like when you were playing! We almost beat all the levels on our first go, so we tried again and…" Kise scratched his head.

"Let me guess," Midorima approached them, "one of you pressed the buttons too many times and it forced you to go into _Oni_ mode."

"Wait! How did you know?" Kise gaped.

"So predictable," Midorima shrugged.

"Yeah right, I bet you two did the exact same thing yourselves," Aomine crossed his arms and scrutinized the two.

Takao turned to look at Midorima and they stared at each other for a few seconds.

"We're more alike than I thought," Takao laughed.

No one spoke up for a few seconds but they were interrupted when someone tapped Midorima on the back. They turned around to see the intrusion, only to realize it was another player waiting for their turn on the machine.

"Oh, sorry," Takao apologized, "We were just chatting for a second. We'll be playing."

Aomine gave Takao and Midorima a hard look before leaving.

"Let's go, Kise," he said as he turned towards the exit.

Kise gave them an apologetic smile and bid them farewell.

"Do your best, you two," Kise said in a tone of voice that suggested he wasn't just talking about the arcade game. Takao scratched his head and nodded. What was up with everyone today?

* * *

After a lengthy session on the Bishi-Bashi machine, Takao and Midorima left the arcade with rather sore arms. They had beaten the game in _Oni _mode, which was an accomplishment for them. Takao wondered if he could propose a trip to the arcade for the whole basketball team. It technically _was _physical exercise. Maybe they could do some Taiko no Tatsujin as well. He chuckled at the thought of Midorima smashing his drumsticks to the beat of classical songs.

"What is it?" Midorima asked.

"Nothing, nothing…" Takao waved his hand. They were on their way back home, and the sun was beginning to set. The orange light that basked the cherry blossoms gave him a nostalgic feeling. There was a slight breeze, and some of the petals had already begun to fall.

"It's a pity…" He said under his breath. Midorima suddenly screeched the bike to a stop and Takao looked back at him in curiosity.

"Who told you?" He demanded.

"Hah?" Takao said, flabbergasted at Midorima's tone.

"I thought I told them to not say anything…" Midorima muttered and Takao's curiosity perked up.

"What? What is it?" Takao asked.

"I…" Midorima started but clamped his mouth shut almost immediately.

"Let's find somewhere to sit, and I'll… yeah…" Midorima said nervously as Takao gave him a sour expression.

They approached a nearby park, and Midorima leaned the bike on a metal pole. He grabbed the paper bag from the basket and headed for the swings. Takao stood from a far, wondering what was going on. He stuck his hands in his pockets and followed after Midorima.

He sat on one of the creaky plastic swings and began to push himself lightly. Once he got into a comfortable pace, he was swinging like he was back in elementary school. Funny how he was doing this _now_…right before he graduated from high school.

Takao glanced at Midorima, who was watching him with solemn eyes.

"I guess I should tell you something too," Takao said as he let the swing slow to a stop. It took a long time though, and when he spoke up again, he was still going back and forth.

"I think I'm going to _Handai_…" Takao tilted his head back and closed his eyes. He didn't know what kind of expression to show Midorima. He was afraid he would lose control if he did anything stupid.

"You got accepted already, right?" Midorima asked.

"Yeah…" Takao mumbled. Being with a genius like Midorima didn't make everything easier. In fact, if he were with anyone _but _Midorima, he probably would have been ecstatic in bringing the news. Osaka University was _good_, but for someone like Midorima, it wasn't even a challenge.

"I'm going to _Todai_," Midorima said bluntly. Takao resisted the urge to sigh. Instead, he felt the prick of tears. He turned his head to the left, trying his best to focus on the window of a nearby house.

_Hmm… they have nice blinds_. Takao tried to think, but his eyes continued to water up and his expression crumpled.

This was to be expected though. Where else would Midorima Shintarou go except for the best University in Japan? Tokyo was where he would go.

Just as he felt the tears in one eye ready to roll down, Midorima started to rummage through the paper bag and Takao blinked them away as fast as he could. What was he doing _now_? This wasn't the time for that sh-

"Give me your hand."

Takao refused to look back, and stuck his hand out.

He felt something cool and smooth in the palm of his hand. Takao brought his hand back and was surprised when he saw a silver ring gleaming in the sunset.

"What… is the meaning of this?" Takao held it between his index finger and his thumb, looking through the circle, "You're not proposing right?"

"Get real," Midorima growled, "Can't you guess?"

"No, not really," Takao said.

"You're dense at the times I want you to be perceptive," he said as he took the ring from Takao's grasp.

Midorima rummaged through the bag again, and took out a thin metal chain. He looped the ring through it deftly and reached over to fasten it onto Takao's neck. He drew back a bit from the sudden proximity, but slowly relaxed.

"I have one too, but I'm wearing mine," Midorima waved his right hand up, "I know you don't like wearing things on your fingers or wrist… so I got Kei to get a metal chain with the rings…" he trailed off.

"Oh…" Takao said softly.

"This isn't goodbye," Midorima said, "but I can't say that we won't go through some hard times."

"You don't have to promise me anything," Takao grabbed the ring hanging from his neck and ran his fingers over it absent-mindedly.

"If anyone asks… say you're in a relationship," Midorima ordered.

Takao laughed quietly at that.

"What else would I say?" He grabbed Midorima's right hand and brought it to his face.

"Thank you," Takao said and kissed his hand lightly before letting it drop back to its original position.

Midorima grabbed his hands and pulled him up from the swing. He stepped closer, still grabbing onto Takao's hands. He brought his face closer and lowered his voice.

"Remember how Ootsubo something about hating each other if you live together?" Midorima said.

"Yeah?" Takao said.

"I don't think it worked out for us… so…" He brushed the tip of his nose against Takao's.

"Let's try it again in a few years, okay?"

"Definitely," Takao grinned and closed the distance between them in a swift motion.

**END**

* * *

Oh my god. And that is that.

(bows deeply)

Even through ups and down of the quality of my plot and writing, I hope you enjoyed this fic and I hope that you ship TakaMido just a tiny bit more. I love you all, current AND future readers.

See you!


End file.
